D.  LANG 


THE  LIBRARY 

OF 

THE  UNIVERSITY 
OF  CALIFORNIA 

LOS  ANGELES 


THE  SILVER  ISLAND 
OF  THE  CHIPPEWA 


"INDIAN"  STORIES 
WITH  HISTORICAL  BASES 

BY  D.   LANGE, 
Superintendent  of  Schools,  St.  Paul,  Minn. 

"  //  a   boy   can't  get  interested  in  '  The  Silver 
Island  of  the  Chippewa'  he  needs  a  doctor." 

Cincinnati    Times-Star. 

ON  THE  TRAIL  OF  THE  SIOUX 
ILLUSTRATED  BY  J.  W.  KENNEDY. 

Price   Net,   $1.00;    Postpaid,   $1.10. 
The  last  stand  of  the  Sioux  on  the  Minnesota 
frontier,  in  the  early  days  of  the  Civil  War. 

THE    SILVER   ISLAND    OF   THE 
CHIPPEWA 

ILLUSTRATED  BY   STANLEY  WOOD. 
Price   Net,   $1.00;    Postpaid,   $1.10. 
A  story  of  Isle  Royale  and  Silver  Isle  in  Lake 
Superior,   and   the    fabulously    rich    mine    on   the 
latter. 

LOST  IN  THE  FUR  COUNTRY 

ILLUSTRATED  BY  GRISWOLD  TYNG. 

Price   Net,   $1.00;    Postpaid,   $1.10. 
Indian  life  in  the  Hudson  Bay  Region  one  hun 
dred  years  ago,  as  experienced  by  twins  kidnapped 
by  Indians. 


LOTHROP,  LEE  &  SHEPARD  CO.,  BOSTON 


'THAT  SMOKE  TELLS  THE  MESSAGE  PLAINLY  ENOUGH,"  OBSERVED 
DAN.— Page  161. 


THE  SILVER  ISLAND 
OF   THE   CHIPPEWA 


BY 
D.     LANGE 

AUTHOR  OF   "ON  THE  TRAIL  OF  THE   SIOUX1 


ILLUSTRATED  BY  STANLEY  L.    WOOD 


BOSTON 
LOTHROP,    LEE   &   SHEPARD    CO. 


Published,  March,  191& 


COPYRIGHT,  1913,  BY  LOTHROP,  LEE  &  SHEPARD  Co. 


All  rights  reserved 
Entered  at  Stationers'  Hall,  London 


THE  SILVER  ISLAND  OF  THE  CHIPPEWA 


BERWICK  &  SMITH  CO. 

NORWOOD,  MASS. 
V,  S.  A. 


INTEODUCTION 

Some  years  ago,  as  I  sailed  along  the 
rugged  North  Shore  of  Lake  Superior,  I  had 
my  first  glimpse  of  Silver  Island. 

The  Duluth  and  Isle  Boyale  boat  had  just 
left  Port  Arthur  on  Thunder  Bay  and  was 
headed  for  the  distant  blue  ridge  of  Isle 
Boyale,  Michigan,  when  I  sighted  an  islet  a 
few  miles  to  the  left  of  our  course.  There  it 
lay,  like  a  fortress  guarding  the  entrance  to 
Thunder  Bay,  out  of  which  flows  the  golden 
stream  of  Canadian  wheat  to  the  markets  of 
far-away  lands.  No  man-of-war  and  no  buc 
caneer  ever  tried  to  capture  the  great  wheat- 
loading  vessels  at  Fort  "William  and  Port 
Arthur,  so  why  should  our  peaceful  Canadian 
neighbors  build  a  sea  fort  under  the  pic 
turesque  wooded  rocks  of  Thunder  Cape? 
An  old  trapper,  who  was  also  going  to  Isle 
Boyale,  knew  something  about  that  fortress. 

v 


rrorr 


vi  INTRODUCTION 

It  wasn't  a  fortress  at  all,  he  said.  It  was 
a  sort  of  ruin  now,  but  when  he  first  trapped 
bear  on  the  North  Shore  and  lynx  on  Isle 
Eoyale,  it  was  a  fabulously  rich  silver  mine. 
So  rich  was  the  ore  that  they  packed  it  in 
sacks  and  barrels,  when  they  shipped  it  to 
Detroit. 

On  that  trip,  the  romance  of  the  North, 
of  Lake  Superior,  the  Great  Inland  Sea,  and 
of  wild  rock-bound  and  rock-ribbed  Isle 
Eoyale,  the  great  isle  of  Minong  of  the  Chip- 
pewas,  laid  hold  of  me.  I  camped  in  their 
little  cabins  with  fishermen  and  trappers,  I 
stalked  moose,  deer,  and  bear  with  camera 
and  field-glass,  climbed  to  the  nest  of  the 
great  white-headed  eagle,  visited  some  of 
the  Chippewa  Indians  and  pitched  my  tent 
among  the  screaming  sea  gulls  on  the  long 
low  ridges  of  the  Siskiwit  Islands. 

And  when  both  boys  and  girls,  and  many 
adults,  received  kindly  "On  the  Trail  of  the 
Sioux,"  a  story  of  the  prairies,  I  ventured 
to  tell  a  tale  playing  on  the  lakes,  streams, 
and  islands,  and  in  the  forests  of  the  Chip- 


INTRODUCTION  vii 

pewas,  who,  in  the  days  gone  by,  fought  many 
a  battle  with  their  hereditary  enemies,  the 
Sioux,  but  did  not  join  the  Sioux  in  their 
desperate  struggles  against  the  Whites. 

Thus  grew  the  story  of  "The  Silver  Island 
of  the  Chippewa." 

DIETKICH  LANGE. 
St.  Paul,  Minn., 

December,  1912. 


CONTENTS 

CHAPTER  I 

PAGE 

THE  CHIPPEWA'S  MESSAGE  ....     ;.:    ,.,    ,.-,    ,.j    ,.      3 

CHAPTER  II 
THE  START .     .     i.     ,.•    15 

CHAPTER  III 
ON  THE  TRAIL ....    22 

CHAPTER  IV 

THE  FIRST  NIGHT  IN  CAMP  .....     i..    ;.     :.    ,.     31 

CHAPTER  V 
WAGGLES  is  INITIATED ,..,.,..     39 

CHAPTER  VI 
OFF  ON  A  LONG  CRUISE .. .    w    ,.    ,.    47 

CHAPTER  VII 

A  SPOOKY  NIGHT ,.     >i    i.     •.-    r.    >.     68 

CHAPTER  VIII 

LOSING  THE  SPY  AND  FINDING  A  QUEER  ISLAND  ...     68 

ix 


x  CONTENTS 

CHAPTER  IX 

PAGE 

THE  MOOSE  HUNT 75 

CHAPTER  X 
BUILDING  A  CANOE  AND  EXPLORING  THE  WILDERNESS  .     87 


92 


CHAPTER  XII 
CAUGHT  IN  A  FOREST  FIRE 100 

CHAPTER  XIII 
IN  THE  CHIPPEWA  TEPEE 109 

CHAPTER  XIV 
AN  UNWELCOME  VISITOR 116 

CHAPTER  XV 
CUNNING  AGAINST  CUNNING 121 

CHAPTER  XVI 
INTO  THE  UNKNOWN 127 

CHAPTER  XVII 
BATTLING  WITH  WAVES  AND  FOG 134 

CHAPTER  XVIII 
THE  FIRST  CAMP  ON  ISLE  ROYALE  .   140 


CONTENTS  xi 

CHAPTER  XIX 

PAGE 

A  REMARKABLE  DISCOVERY  AND  A  FATEFUL  MESSAGE  .   145 

CHAPTER  XX 
PREPARING  FOR  THE  ENEMY 162 

CHAPTER  XXI 
IN  A  NORTHEASTER  ON  THE  SISKIWITS 172 

CHAPTER  XXII 
ESCAPING  FROM  THE  SISKIWITS 179 

CHAPTER  XXIII 
SNOWED  IN 187 

CHAPTER  XXIV 
THE  SOLITUDE  OF  A  LONG  WINTER 195 

CHAPTER  XXV 
DECOYING  THE  TRAILER 207 

CHAPTER  XXVI 
SILVER  ISLAND  AT  LAST 224 

CHAPTER  XXVII 
A  VISIT  TO  AMIGOOSHEB.     THE  END  OF  LE  Nora.    HOME  232 

CHAPTER  XXVIII 
THE  HISTORY  OF  SILVER  ISLAND  .  242 


ILLUSTKATIONS 

"That   smoke    tells   the   message   plainly   enough," 

observed  Dan    (page  161)      ....      Frontispiece 

FACING  PACK 

"Swim  out!     She'll  kill  you  if  she  strikes  you!"  .  84 

"You  are  welcome" 110 

On  and  on  they  labored  in  silence 138 

He  ventured  too  close  to  the  maddened  beast     .     .  204 

"Drop  your  knife!"       .........  222 


THE  SILVER  ISLAND 
OF  THE  CHIPPEWA 


THE  SILVER  ISLAND  OF 
THE  CHIPPEWA 

CHAPTEE  I 

THE    CHIPPEWA 'S    MESSAGE 

WINNIBOSHEE,  the  CMppewa  In 
dian,  had  made  a  remarkably  fast 
trip   in   his   canoe   from   Grand 
Portage  on  Lake  Superior  to  Fort  Frances, 
Ontario. 

He  carried  an  important  letter  addressed 
to  John  McCnlloch,  Indian  Trader  at  Fort 
Frances,  and  a  friend  of  McCulloch  at  Grand 
Portage  had  promised  the  Indian  a  new  gun 
if  he  delivered  the  letter  in  less  than  a  week's 
time.  Winniboshee,  in  order  to  provide  his 
family  with  enough  moose  meat  and  venison, 
needed  a  new  gun  very  much,  so  he  paddled 
eighteen  hours  a  day  and  made  the  trip  in  six 
days. 


4  THE  SILVEE  ISLAND 

McCulloch,  although  naturally  cool  and  de 
liberate  in  his  actions,  quickly  took  the  letter 
into  a  little  back  room  of  his  log  house.  His 
fingers  trembled  as  he  broke  the  red  seal, 
and  his  voice  was  a  little  unsteady  as  he  read 
it  to  his  wife  and  oldest  son,  Dan. 

"Dear  Mr.  McCulloch,"  it  ran.  "On 
March  20th  we  paid  to  Alexander  Sellsby 
your  credit  of  fifteen  hundred  dollars  ($1500) 
as  directed  in  your  order  of  January  5th, 
1865.  We  understand  that  Mr.  Sellsby  and 
the  Chippewa,  Hamigeesek,  who  accompanied 
him,  were  to  close  some  mining  deal  for  you 
at  Montreal.  We  could  not  doubt  the  gen 
uineness  of  the  order,  but  had  we  been  able 
to  reach  you,  we  should  have  advised  you 
against  such  a  highly  speculative  venture. 

"Your  friends,  Sellsby  and  Hamigeesek, 
took  passage  on  the  steamer  Mackinac,  for 
Montreal  on  May  3d,  and  on  May  5  the  boat 
foundered  with  all  on  board  in  a  violent  storm 
on  Lake  Erie. 

"We  appreciate  that  this  news  of  the  death 


OF  THE  CHIPPEWA  5 

of  your  friends  must  come  as  a  hard  blow  to 
you.  The  financial  loss  also  is  not  incon 
siderable  to  a  beginner  in  the  Indian  trade, 
and  therefore  you  may  draw  on  us  to  the  ex 
tent  of  five  hundred  dollars  ($500). 

1  'Hoping  that  you  and  your  family  are  well, 
we  remain, 

'  *  Cordially  yours, 

"JOHN  L.  STETSON  &  Co. 

"Bankers. 
"Detroit,  Michigan, 
"May  8th,  1865." 

"Now  we're  done  for,"  muttered  Mr.  Mc- 
Culloch,  as  he  stared  blankly  at  the  rough 
logs  of  the  floor  and  let  the  letter  fall  from 
his  trembling  hands. 

"Oh,  come,  Father,  we're  not  done  for!" 
exclaimed  Dan,  a  wiry  lad  of  nineteen,  as  he 
sprang  up  from  his  rough  log  stool  and  stood 
up  tall  and  straight,  his  blond  hair  almost 
touching  the  low  ceiling. 

"We  are  not  done  for!"  he  repeated.  "If 
Silver  Island  exists,  I'll  find  it;  and  if  it's 


6  THE  SILVER  ISLAND 

half  as  rich  as  Hamigeesek  claimed  it  is,  we  '11 
come  out  all  right.  Don't  cry,  Mother;  if 
Silver  Island  is  within  a  thousand  miles  of 
here,  I '11  find  it!" 

Then  the  three  sat  in  silence,  until  Mc- 
Culloch  went  to  take  a  meal  of  hominy  bread 
and  bacon  to  Winniboshee. 

"I  was  always  opposed  to  this  wild 
scheme,"  remarked  Dan's  mother,  as  the  tears 
stole  out  of  her  calm  gray  eyes,  "but  you  and 
Father  would  not  listen  to  me.  You  aren't 
even  sure  that  the  ore  which  Hamigeesek  left 
here  contains  any  silver.  It  may  be  lead  or 
tin  or  some  other  worthless  metal.  I  never 
quite  trusted  either  Sellsby  or  Hamigeesek." 

"What's  that  you  say,  Mother?"  asked  Mc- 
Culloch  as  he  entered  the  room  again. 
' '  Sellsby  and  Hamigeesek  never  told  a  lie  and 
Dan  and  I  know  silver  from  lead,  although  we 
are  not  miners  or  chemists.  To-night,  after 
we  are  safe  from  intruders,  we'll  all  go  to 
Wolf  Hollow  and  convince  you  that  that  piece 
of  ore  is  full  of  real  silver." 

That  June  day  seemed  endless  to  the  whole 


OF  THE  CHIPPEWA  7 

McCulloch  family.  Again  and  again  Dan  ex 
amined  the  piece  of  ore,  and  every  time  he  be 
came  more  firmly  convinced  that  the  white 
streaks  and  lumps  in  it  were  nothing  else 
than  pure  silver. 

But  Dan's  small  brother,  Harry,  was  the 
most  excited  of  all  and  made  no  attempt  to 
conceal  his  excitement,  and  hardly  left  Dan 
for  half  an  hour  at  a  time. 

''Dan,"  he  begged,  "now,  Dan,  you  aren't 
going  to  hunt  up  that  Silver  Island  and  leave 
me  here  all  alone  with  sister  Margaret?  If 
you  do,  I'll  sure  run  away  back  to  Detroit.  I 
can't  do  a  thing  here  but  hang  around  this  old 
log  house. 

" Mother  won't  let  me  go  and  play  with  the 
Indian  kids;  she  won't  let  me  go  fishing  or 
swimming  alone.  I  can 't  do  a  thing  but  work 
in  the  garden  and  quarrel  with  sister.  And 
every  time  I  make  her  cry  Mother  boxes  my 
ears  or  asks  Father  to  straighten  me  out. 
Oh,  I  wish  I  was  back  in  Detroit ! " 

"Oh,  kid,  dry  up,  dry  up!"  at  last  Dan 
broke  in  good  naturedly.  "You'd  be  dead 


8  THE  SILVEE  ISLAND 

long  ago  if  Mother  didn't  watch  you.  Didn't 
yon  fall  into  the  river  only  last  week?" 

"Yes,  and  didn't  I  get  out  again,  tool"  re 
torted  Harry,  vexed  at  the  indifference  of  his 
big  brother.  ' '  How  am  I  ever  going  to  learn 
to  swim,  if  I  can  never  go  to  the  river  ?  You 
and  Father  and  Mother  always  say:  'Don't 
go  near  the  river,  don't  go  fishing;  you're 
too  small  to  set  traps.  Play  with  Margaret 
and  work  in  your  garden. ' 

"If  you  go  away  and  leave  me,  I'll  run 
after  you, ' '  he  screamed  as  he  broke  out  cry 
ing;  "or  I'll, — I'll — run — run — away  to — to 
Detroit.  You,  you  '11  see,  if  I — don 't ! "  And 
with  that  he  ran  down  the  trail  to  a  secluded 
spot  where  he  frequently  hid  himself  when 
his  excitable  temper  had  been  wrought  up  to 
an  uncomfortable  degree. 

"Queer  kid,"  muttered  Dan,  as  he  looked 
after  him.  "Very  much  like  myself  when  I 
was  eleven.  He  would  take  it  very  hard  if 
I  went  away  and  left  him.  And  it  is  really 
pretty  lonesome  here  for  a  youngster.  "Won 
der  if  I  could  take  him  along?  He  would  be 


OF  THE  CHIPPEWA  9 

lots  of  company.  But  I'm  afraid  Mother 
wouldn  't  allow  it. ' ' 

At  last  evening  drew  near.  Winniboshee 
had  long  ago  finished  his  meal  of  boiled  bacon, 
bread  and  lettuce.  One  whole  loaf  of  bread 
he  had  eaten  and  the  second  loaf  he  had  car 
ried  away  under  his  blanket,  as  it  was  the 
custom  of  Indians  to  do  with  anything  left 
over  from  a  meal. 

The  sky  began  to  be  tinted  orange  behind 
the  pines,  numerous  whitethroats  whistled  on 
the  trees  around  the  clearing,  and  the  weird 
and  dreamy  evening  song  of  several  her 
mit  thrushes  rang  out  from  the  thickets  of 
spruce,  balsam,  and  birch  a  few  rods  away. 

Quietly  the  McCulloch  family  walked  along 
the  trail  northward  to  Wolf  Hollow.  Only 
Harry  and  his  fox  terrier,  Waggles,  could  not 
suppress  their  excitement.  They  ran  ahead 
on  the  trail,  scampered  about  now  on  this  side 
and  now  on  that,  until  Dan  called  to  them 
sharply : ' '  Cut  out  your  capers,  kid.  Haven 't 
I  told  you  lots  of  times  that  the  woods  have 
ears  and  eyes?" 


10  THE  SILVER  ISLAND 

"Yes,"  spoke  up  the  boys'  father,  "Harry, 
stop  your  racket  with  the  pup.  It's  harder 
to  keep  a  secret  in  these  woods  than  it  is  to 
keep  one's  business  quiet  in  a  big  town. 
Some  of  these  Indians  and  half-breeds  seem 
to  be  able  to  smell  news.  Fall  in  behind  with 
that  frisky  pup  of  yours ! ' ' 

Arrived  at  the  hollow,  Dan  laid  the  ore  on 
a  stump,  around  which  he  built  a  fire,  and  for 
half  an  hour  the  boys  and  their  father  fed  the 
blaze  until  it  lighted  up  the  little  hollow  with 
the  reddish  glare  of  old  pine  knots,  and  made 
the  tall  trunks  of  pines  and  the  white-barked 
poplars  and  birches  stand  out  in  sharp  con 
trast,  like  white,  spooky  silhouettes  against 
a  dark  background. 

Then  they  let  the  fire  burn  low,  and  with  a 
stick  Dan  pulled  out  the  ore.  He  pushed  it 
over  on  a  rock  and  hammered  it  with  the  head 
of  his  ax  until  most  of  the  rock,  cracked  and 
softened  by  the  fire,  fell  away  from  the  metal. 
As  soon  as  the  battered  piece  had  cooled  off, 
he  took  it  up. 

"There,"  he  said  to  his  parents;   "it's 


OF  THE  CHIPPEWA  11 

surely  not  iron  or  copper,  and  it  isn't  lead  or 
tin  or  some  other  worthless  stuff.  If  it  were, 
this  fire  would  have  melted  it.  It's  got  the 
white  bright  shine  of  silver  and  it  beats  up 
like  silver.  It's  silver  and  nothing  else, 
though  I  admit  that  this  beating  and  hammer 
ing  is  a  pretty  crude  test.  There's  more  of 
it  where  this  came  from  and  I  want  to  go  and 
find  it!" 

"True  enough,"  replied  Dan's  father  in  a 
low  voice.  "I  think  it's  silver  all  right. 
Everybody  thinks  there's  gold  and  silver  in 
the  rocks  around  Lake  Superior,  and  I  know 
that  Sellsby  and  Hamigeesek  didn't  lie  to  me. 
But  how  can  you  ever  hope  to  find  the  Is 
land?  Hamigeesek  was  the  only  one  who 
knew,  and  he  and  poor  Sellsby  lie  dead  on  the 
bottom  of  Lake  Erie. ' ' 

"Now  look,  Father,"  broke  in  Dan  ear 
nestly.  ' '  I  know  enough  to  try.  Hamigeesek 
found  the  Island  on  a  trip  to  Isle  Eoyale  in 
Lake  Superior.  I  know  in  a  general  way  the 
route  he  must  have  taken.  He  said  the  Is 
land  was  very  small,  just  a  bare  rock  only  five 


12  THE  SILVER  ISLAND 

times  as  long  as  a  canoe,  had  no  trees  or 
bushes  on  it,  and  you  could  see  the  silver  shine 
in  the  water  like  stars. 

"I  don't  know  whether  the  Island  is  in 
Rainy  Lake  or  in  some  other  lake  along  the 
route,  or  in  Lake  Superior.  I  don't  believe 
it's  far  from  shore  nor  far  from  Isle  Royale 
if  it  is  in  Lake  Superior,  because  the  Indians 
seldom  go  far  from  land  in  their  canoes.  My 
plan  is  to  start  at  once  along  the  route  to  Isle 
Royale.  I  may  pick  up  some  more  informa 
tion  as  I  go  along.  Hamigeesek's  good 
friend,  Amigoosheb,  generally  has  his  camp 
at  the  head  of  the  Pigeon  River,  near  the  Isle 
Royale  route,  and  I  wouldn't  be  surprised  if 
Hamigeesek  had  visited  him  and  told  him 
something  about  the  location  of  Silver  Is 
land." 

"If  Dan  goes  hunting  for  that  island  I'm 
going  along,"  piped  out  Harry  with  a  loud 
shrill  voice.  "There's  nothing  here  for  me 
to  do  and  Margaret  can  have  my  garden, 
and—" 

"Harry,"   broke   in   Mr.   McCulloch   ear- 


OF  THE  CHIPPEWA  13 

nestly,  ''if  you  start  making  a  noise  here,  I'll 
baste  you  well  with  a  birch  switch.  You've 
been  an  unbearable  youngster  all  day ! ' ' 

Harry  knew  that  Ms  father  meant  it  and 
felt  a  little  ashamed  of  his  actions  during  the 
day;  but  as  the  family  walked  home  in  si 
lence,  he  made  up  his  mind  to  beg  Dan  to 
take  him  along  and  have  Dan  help  him  get  his 
father's  and  mother's  consent. 

Harry's  dog,  Waggles,  had  run  ahead,  and 
when  he  was  about  half-way  to  the  house,  he 
began  to  bark  savagely  and  ran  something 
into  the  timber. 

* '  I  wonder  what  that  pup  is  after  now  I  He 
makes  enough  noise  to  awake  the  whole 
woods,"  remarked  Dan. 

"I  bet  it's  a  fisher,  Dan,"  answered  Harry. 
" Don't  you  know  ever  since  he  had  a  fight 
with  the  fisher  last  winter,  he  gets  mad  and 
barks  like  crazy  when  he  strikes  the  trail  of 
one." 

"He  seems  to  be  right  on  to  something,  the 
way  he  barks,"  said  McCulloch  to  Dan,  as 
Harry  ran  ahead  alone.  "I  just  wonder  if 


14  THE  SILVER  ISLAND 

that  half-breed  Le  Noir  has  been  nosing 
around  here  again?  Ever  since  poor  Sellsby 
and  Hamigeesek  started  for  Montreal,  that 
fellow  has  been  trying  to  find  out  something 
about  their  trip.  I  wonder  if  he  has  any 
inkling  about  the  discovery  Hamigeesek 
made?" 


CHAPTER  H 

THE   START 

BEFORE     breakfast     next     morning 
Harry  opened  his  campaign  with  his 
mother  and  was  met  by  a  flat  refusal 
to  his  ardent  prayer.    But  this  did  not  dis 
courage  Harry  at  all,  because  Mother  had 
many  times  first  refused  a  thing  and  later  had 
granted  it.    With  his  most  persuasive  argu 
ments  he  went  after  his  big  brother. 

"Dan,"  he  begged,  "if  you  let  me  go  along 
hunting  for  that  Silver  Island,  I'll  never  be 
kiddish  again,  honest  Injun,  I  won 't !  I  won 't 
be  lazy  and  I'll  mind  you  to  a  dot.  Cross  my 
heart,  Dan,  I  will.  I'll  lug  all  my  own  stuff 
too." 

"No,  you  can't  go,  kid.  You're  always 
hungry  or  tired  or  dry.  And  then  you  al 
ways  make  such  a  blooming  lot  of  noise  that 

15 


16  THE  SILVER  ISLAND 

you'd  scare  all  the  game  and  make  us  both 
starve." 

"Oh,  come,  Dan,  I  told  you  I  wouldn't  be 
kiddish,  and  sure  as  I  live  I  won't.  And 
Waggles  must  go  along  too.  Wouldn't  Wag 
gles  and  I  have  a  time!  We'll  guard  camp 
from  Indians  and  bears  when  you  are  asleep, 
and  Waggles  will  catch — " 

''Drop  it,  kid,  drop  it!"  Dan  began  to 
laugh  aloud.  "You  and  Waggles  are  just  the 
right  kind  to  fight  bears  and  Indians.  You 
two  will  make  enough  racket  to  scare  the  fish 
in  the  water,  and— 

"Dan,  sure,  I  tell  you  we'll  be  as  quiet  as 
moles  and  we  '11  work  like  beavers. ' ' 

"Yes,  I  know  both  of  you.  You'll  be  snor 
ing  five  minutes  after  we  make  camp  and 
Waggles  never  caught  anything  bigger  than 
mice  and  rats." 

"He  never  had  a  chance.  He's  mighty 
brave  all  right.  He  can't  help  being  small. 
Didn't  he  have  a  big  fight  with  the  fisher?" 

"And  the  fisher  would  have  killed  him  if  I 
hadn't  come  along  with  a  club." 


OF  THE  CHIPPEWA  17 

''But  he  showed  that  he  was  the  right 
stuff." 

"Yes,  you  and  Waggles  are  both  great 
stuff!  Just  quit  jawing  me  now;  I'll  see 
what  I  can  do  for  you  and  that  speckled  pup 
of  yours. ' ' 

"Wheel  hurrah!"  yelled  Harry.  "Dan, 
you're  a  bully  fellow.  When  are  we  going  to 
start?" 

"Bun  along  and  get  some  water  for  Mother 
from  the  spring.  We'll  start  as  soon  as  we 
can  get  ready." 

Harry  had  never  worked  as  hard  as  he  did 
this  day.  He  fetched  in  water  and  wood. 
He  hoed  his  garden  as  it  never  had  been  hoed 
before,  and  he  even  hoed  Margaret's  garden. 
It  was  a  bad  day  for  weeds.  He  told  Wag 
gles  all  about  the  trip  and  Waggles  looked 
him  straight  in  the  face  and  wagged  his  short- 
haired  tail  with  much  excitement,  and  Harry 
felt  sure  Waggles  knew  what  his  master  was 
talking  about  and  the  boy-master  was  several 
times  on  the  point  of  telling  Margaret  every 
thing,  but  he  was  afraid  that  she  would  spoil 


18  THE  SILVER  ISLAND 

his  case  with  Father  and  Mother  before  Dan 
had  secured  their  consent. 

When  Harry  went  to  bed  he  started  to 
travel  in  imagination  the  whole  trail  from 
Port  Frances  to  Grand  Portage,  over  which 
the  family  had  come  about  a  year  ago,  but  he 
fell  asleep  when  he  reached  the  grove  of  big 
Norway  pines  at  Five-Mile  Camp  where  they 
had  made  the  last  stop  on  the  long  journey. 

Dan  succeeded  in  convincing  his  father  and 
mother  that  Harry  and  Waggles  should  join 
in  the  search  for  Silver  Island. 

"I  should  like  to  have  some  company  on 
this  long  trip,"  he  had  argued,  ''and  I  shall 
certainly  take  good  care  of  him  and  can  look 
after  him  better  than  you  could  at  home.  He 
can't  go  to  school  here,  but  he  will  learn  a  lot 
of  things  on  this  trip. ' ' 

Three  days  later,  Dan,  Harry,  and  Wag 
gles  took  the  trail  for  Grand  Portage.  The 
dawn  of  a  June  day  breaks  early  in  the 
North  Country.  It  was  just  past  two  o'clock 
when  the  boys  said  good-by  to  their  parents 
and  sister.  A  few  whitethroats  already 


OF  THE  CHIPPEWA  19 

whistled  their  clear  song  from  the  spruce  and 
fir  thickets. 

1  i  Gee  whiz, ' '  remarked  Harry, ' l  those  little 
Peabody  birds  don't  do  much  sleeping.  One 
of  them  was  singing  last  night  at  ten  o'clock 
just  before  I  fell  asleep." 

The  stars  were  still  twinkling  above  the 
dark  forest  and  it  was  with  some  difficulty 
that  the  travelers  followed  the  trail.  Wag 
gles,  who  was  generally  very  cheerful,  frisk 
ing  about  to  right  and  left,  and  sniffing  at  all 
kinds  of  real  and  imaginary  tracks,  trotted 
soberly  behind.  The  cold  wet  grass  did  not 
invite  any  frisking  about,  and  he  seemed  to 
be  depressed  in  spirits  and  wondering  why 
any  humans  should  start  on  a  trip  at  such  an 
unreasonable  hour.  The  cool  hours  of  even 
ing  were,  to  his  dog  sense,  the  proper  time  to 
start  on  a  trip. 

Big  drops  and  even  little  streams  of  cold 
dew  ran  down  from  hazel  and  willow  and 
other  brush  that  hung  into  the  trail.  The 
boots  of  the  boys  were  as  wet  as  if  the  lads 
had  been  wading  in  a  marsh,  and  the  cold  dew 


20  THE  SILVER  ISLAND 

soaked  into  the  upper  part  of  their  tucked-in 
Mackinaw  trousers  until  the  two  travelers 
were  wet  to  the  skin  and  their  woolen  trous 
ers  were  as  heavy  as  soaked  sponges. 

Dan,  who  was  walking  ahead,  stripped  off 
most  of  the  dew,  but  there  was  plenty  left  to 
soak  into  his  small  brother  and  even  Waggles 
soon  looked  as  if  he  had  just  taken  a  bath. 

For  fully  half  an  hour  the  trio  followed  the 
trail  in  silence  until  the  spires  of  the  spruces 
and  the  cloud-like  branches  of  the  old  pines 
began  to  rise  out  of  the  grayish  pale  light  of 
morning. 

"  What  are  we  starting  so  dreadful  early 
for  anyway?"  Harry  at  last  ventured  to  ask. 

"I'll  give  you  a  pointer  on  that,  young 
brother,"  replied  Dan  in  a  low  voice. 

"The  woods  haven't  as  many  eyes  and  ears 
as  the  town,  but  they  have  eyes  and  ears  a 
good  deal  keener.  We  don't  want  any  half- 
breed  or  Indian  around  here  to  know  where 
we  are  going  and  what  we  are  taking  along. 
Within  three  or  four  days  Father  can  tell 
them  we  have  gone  on  a  trip  east  and  they 


OF  THE  CHIPPEWA  21 

will  probably  think  we  have  gone  to  look  up 
a  good  trapping  trail  or  hunting  camp  for 
fall.  But  if  any  one  sees  us  with  these  packs 
he'll  know  right  away  that  we're  after  some 
thing  unusual  and  he  '11  try  to  figure  out  what 
it  is  and  some  curious  fellow  may  start  sneak 
ing  around  after  us,  for  none  of  them  have  a 
thing  to  do  at  this  season.  And  I  reckon  you 
and  Waggles  and  I  are  company  enough  on 
this  business. ' ' 


CHAPTEE  HI 

ON   THE    TBAIL 

AGAIN  the  two  brothers  relapsed  into 
silence.    A   long   twenty   miles    of 
hard  trail  lay  before  them,  near  the 
end  of  which  they  would  find  hidden  a  birch- 
bark  canoe,  a  pack-load  of  steel  traps  and  two 
pairs  of  snowshoes,  all  of  which  Dan  had 
cached  there  when  the  country  froze  up  the 
preceding  fall. 

Dan,  with  his  heavy  pack,  set  a  rapid  pace, 
and  although  Harry  carried  only  a  small  load 
he  had  but  little  wind  left  for  talking  and  ask 
ing  questions.  As  the  sun  rose  above  the 
tree  tops,  the  dew  rapidly  disappeared  from 
the  underbrush.  Whitethroats  and  hermit- 
thrushes  still  sang  in  the  thickets.  In  some 
small  openings,  where  several  years  ago  fire 
had  destroyed  the  large  trees,  woodland  spar 
rows  and  numerous  little  warblers  chirped 
22 


THE  SILVER  ISLAND  23 

their  plain  songs.  The  big  black  log-cock  was 
hammering  on  a  dead  pine  and,  with  a  loud 
scream,  took  flight  as  the  boys  approached, 
for  he  has  always  been  one  of  the  shyest  of 
birds. 

"Golly,  he's  a  big  fellow,"  remarked 
Harry,  "as  big  as  a  crow."  But  Dan  was 
already  two  dozen  paces  ahead  and  Harry  fell 
into  a  short  trot  to  catch  up  with  him,  and 
again  they  moved  along  in  silence. 

As  noon  was  approaching  they  entered  a 
tamarack  swamp  where  the  going  was  unusu 
ally  bad.  Dan,  an  experienced  woodsman,  in 
stinctively  picked  his  way  over  slippery  roots 
and  deep  holes  filled  with  dark-brown  water. 

"A  beastly  rotten  trail,  you're  leading  us 
on,"  Harry  was  going  to  say,  when  he  slipped 
on  a  root  and,  turning  a  kind  of  somersault 
sideways,  landed  squarely  on  his  stomach  in 
a  black  pool,  and,  although  he  wriggled  out 
as  quickly  as  he  could,  he  was  soused  and 
daubed  with  reddish-brown  mud  all  over. 

Harry,  who  was  getting  tired  and  hungry, 
felt  vexed  enough  to  cry,  but  Dan  laughed  and 


24  THE  SILVER  ISLAND 

said  it  was  all  a  part  of  the  game  and  Harry 
would  soon  dry  off  in  the  sun.  Waggles 
sniffed  and  jumped  around  the  pool  as  if  he 
thought  Harry  had  dived  into  it  after  a  mouse 
or  chipmunk  or  frog,  for  all  of  which  Wag 
gles  was  always  on  the  alert. 

"You  fool  pup,"  remarked  Harry,  as  with 
a  handful  of  grass  he  brushed  off  some  of  the 
mud,  "I'll  push  you  into  that  mud-hole  if  you 
don't  stop  making  fun  of  me." 

And  again  they  marched  on,  Harry  won 
dering  if  Dan  was  going  to  make  the  whole 
twenty  miles  without  stopping  for  lunch. 
But  he  had  promised  that  he  wouldn't  be  a 
baby  and  he  wasn't  going  to  tell  that  he  was 
getting  tired  and  hungry. 

The  sun  was  now  shining  almost  straight 
through  the  pines  and  through  the  loose  green 
foliage  of  tall  poplars  and  birches. 

"There,"  said  Dan,  as  he  threw  his  pack 
on  the  soft  moss  near  a  still,  clear  stream; 
"this  is  good  spring  water,  and  here  we'll 
stop  for  a  bite ;  we're  over  half  there  now.  I 
suppose  you're  near  played  out,  kid?" 


OF  THE  CHIPPEWA  25 

"Not  a  bit  of  it,  Dan;  I  could  walk  a  mile 
yet,  but  I  tell  you  I'm  hungry.  You  hiked 
as  if  somebody  was  chasing  us." 

"We  want  to  get  out  of  this  country  as 
soon  as  possible,  and  there's  no  telling  how 
long  we  may  have  to  stop  at  our  canoe.  It 
leaked  a  little  last  fall,  £nd  I'm  just  a  little 
afraid  a  bear  may  have  ripped  it.  The  coun 
try  is  full  of  them." 

The  biscuits,  which  Harry's  mother  had 
put  into  the  pack  for  the  small  voyager's  spe 
cial  benefit,  went  fine  and  fast  with  the  hot 
tea;  but  Dan  would  allow  Harry  only  three 
of  them,  while  Harry  said  he  felt  as  if  he 
wanted  about  a  dozen. 

"This  is  just  a  light  lunch  and  a  short 
rest,"  Dan  decided.  "You  can't  march  if 
you're  stuffed.  To-night  you  can  eat  all  you 
want. ' ' 

After  lunch  Dan  struck  a  very  slow  pace. 
Harry  followed  at  ease  and  behind  trotted 
Waggles,  his  tongue  lolling  out  of  his 
mouth,  for  the  day  had  grown  very  hot  and 
Waggles  was  not  used  to  long  trips. 


26  THE  SILVER  ISLAND 

On  open  hillsides  the  heat  waves  rose  quiv 
ering  in  the  air,  the  scattered  branches  of  tall 
Norways  gave  hardly  any  shade,  and  only 
the  hobnails  in  the  boots  of  the  boys  pre 
vented  them  from  slipping  on  the  dry  needles. 

The  trees  and  shrubs,  the  grasses,  ferns 
and  flowers,  seemed  to  be  almost  palpitating 
with  growth,  but  as  for  sound  or  sign  of  other 
life,  the  forest  seemed  dead. 

'  *  Where  are  all  the  birds  and  animals  any 
way?"  asked  Harry. 

"They're  taking  a  nap,  Harry.  Birds  and 
animals  move  and  feed  in  the  morning  and 
towards  evening;  during  the  hot  noon  hours 
they  keep  quiet.  They're  wise  in  their  ways 
and  know  how  to  take  life  easy  when  they 
can. ' ' 

"Where  are  the  big  animals?  I  thought 
we  would  see  some  and  I've  seen  nothing 
bigger  than  a  red  squirrel  and  a  rabbit." 

"Each  goes  to  his  own  country  in  spring. 
Moose  and  deer  are  in  the  thickets  and 
swamps  around  the  lakes  where  they  can 


OF  THE  CHIPPEWA  27 

hide  their  young  and  get  into  water  when  the 
flies  are  bad.  You'll  see  plenty  of  them  as 
we  travel  along." 

"Where  are  the  bears  and  wolves  and 
lynxes?" 

"The  bears  roam  about  a  good  deal  now. 
In  July  and  August  they  find  the  raspberry 
and  blueberry  patches.  The  lynxes  are  scat 
tered  everywhere  and  nowhere  in  particular. 
The  wolves  are  on  high  ground  where  they 
had  their  cubs  early  in  spring.  But  we'll 
not  see  many  of  either  of  these.  They  are 
wary  and  don't  often  come  into  the  open  and 
they  are  apt  to  hear  us  and  smell  us  before 
we  see  them. 

"And  now  I'll  give  you  another  pointer. 
Cut  out  noises  as  much  as  you  can.  None  of 
your  yelling  and  calling,  and  see  to  it  that 
Waggles  doesn't  chase  and  bark  after  things 
all  the  time.  I'm  afraid  that  pup  will  turn 
out  a  good  deal  of  a  nuisance,  but  I  knew 
you  wanted  very  much  to  take  him  along, 
and  then  he's  always  so  happy  and  cheerful 


28  THE  SILVER  ISLAND 

and  looks  at  a  person  in  such  a  human-like 
way, — well,  perhaps  he  may  be  of  some  use 
in  camp  too. 

"But  you  and  Waggles  will  have  to  go 
short  on  noise.  The  big  creatures  of  the 
woods  are  seldom  heard. 

"Moose  and  deer  and  Indians  are  nearly 
always  silent.  Bears  and  lynxes  and  pan 
thers  are  silent  and  so  are  the  eagles." 

"What  about  wolves  and  owls?  Don't 
they  make  a  lot  of  noise  1 ' '  Harry  threw  in. 

"Only  at  times,  and  then  they  know  what 
they're  howling  for;  at  least  the  wolves  do. 
What  the  owl  hoots  for,  I  don't  know.  But 
you'll  not  hear  or  see  many  wolves. 

"The  wild  things  seem  to  know  that  every 
one  can  sneak  upon  you,  if  you  make  a  noise, 
so  they  keep  still  unless  they  have  some  use 
for  noise." 

"What  about  the  birds?"  ventured  Harry. 

"Oh,  yes;  the  small  birds  don't  have  to  be 
afraid  of  being  followed,  because  they  can 
hop  and  fly  about  in  the  trees  and  bushes 
where  nothing  can  follow  them." 


OF  THE  CHIPPEWA  29 

Time  went  quickly  and  the  slower  pace  of 
travel  did  not  tire  Harry.  Again  they 
passed  up  hill  and  down  hill,  through  spruce 
and  tamarack  swamps  and  through  open 
sunny  places  where  an  abundance  of  small 
white  flowers  were  spread  out  over  the  moss 
and  around  the  rocks  and  dead  stumps.  In 
several  places  the  travelers  touched  the  lake, 
on  whose  blue  glittering  surface  the  pines  be 
gan  to  cast  long  shadows. 

The  birds,  although  seldom  seen,  again 
filled  the  forest  with  music.  There  came 
again  the  ever-present  whistle  of  the  white- 
throats,  which  Harry  imitated  until  one  of 
the  birds  almost  flew  into  the  face  of  his  sup 
posed  rival.  From  the  thickets  and  swamp 
rang  out  again  the  notes  of  the  veery  and 
hermit-thrushes,  sweet  and  melancholy  but 
still  strong,  as  if  the  little  throbbing  hearts 
of  the  singers  were  overflowing  with  some 
great  joy;  while  from  low  and  open  bushes 
came  the  medley  of  song  sparrows  and  war 
blers,  whose  chirps  and  trills  and  feeble,  wiry 
notes  blended  like  a  well-attuned  accompani- 


30  THE  SILVEE  ISLAND 

merit  with  the  stronger  music  of  thrushes  and 
whitethroats. 

Dan  slowed  up  and  began  to  scan  carefully 
the  poplars  on  the  right  side  of  the  trail. 

"We  are  almost  there,"  he  said.  "I 
blazed  a  poplar  a  few  rods  beyond  the  big 
fallen  log  we  just  climbed  over.  Our  canoe 
is  just  ten  rods  straight  south  of  that  blaze, 
under  some  old  spruces  near  a  small  pond 
and  not  more  than  ten  rods  from  Eainy 
Lake. 

''Here  is  the  blaze!  Now  I  only  hope  the 
boat's  there  and  that  a  bear  hasn't  slashed  it 
or  some  fool  porcupine  cut  holes  into  it!" 
and  with  that  the  two  boys,  much  to  the  sur 
prise  of  tired  and  panting  Waggles,  left  the 
trail  and  struck  into  a  bad  jungle  of  willows 
and  a  leaning  and  prostrate  growth  of  black 
alders  which  had  never  righted  themselves 
since  the  heavy  snows  of  three  years  ago. 


CHAPTER  IV 

THE    FIRST    NIGHT    IN    CAMP 

THE  ten  rods  seemed  to  Harry  at  least 
a  mile  long,  and  lie  wondered  how 
Dan  would  ever  be  able  to  find  any 
thing  in  this  swamp  of  tangled  brush,  and 
how  he  would  ever  be  able  to  find  his  way  out 
again. 

Dan,  however,  walked  straight  to  his  cache, 
but  when  he  stood  before  the  canoe  which  he 
had  so  carefully  turned  bottom  up  on  two 
poles,  tied  to  small  trees,  he  angrily  dropped 
his  pack  and  made  some  strong  remarks 
about  fool  bears  and  porcupines  who  always 
find  everything  and  monkey  with  everything 
they  find. 

"Confound  those  four-legged  idiots!'*  he 
muttered,  as  he  showed  Harry  a  big  rent  in 
the  side  of  the  canoe  and  the  toothmarks  of 
the  porcupine  on  the  heels  of  the  snowshoes. 

31 


32  THE  SILVEK  ISLAND 

"Now,  we'll  have  to  stop  here  a  day  to  fix 
the  canoe,"  he  added.  "I'm  surprised  that 
plaguy  porcu  didn't  cut  up  the  webs  of  the 
snowshoes  and  eat  a  dozen  holes  into  the 
canoe  so  we  would  have  to  throw  the  whole 
outfit  away!  Well,  no  use  grumbling;  they 
aren't  any  worse  than  some  humans  I  know." 

"I  guess  that  means  me,"  thought  Harry; 
however  he  didn't  say  so,  but  asked:  "What 
do  they  do  it  for?" 

"Well,  I  guess,"  explained  Dan,  getting 
over  his  anger,  "the  snow  broke  down  my 
poles  so  the  canoe  dropped  to  the  ground.  A 
bear  happened  to  come  along  and  took  it  for 
some  sort  of  log  and  so,  of  course,  it  was  his 
duty  to  turn  it  over  to  see  if  there  weren't 
some  mice  or  bugs  or  ants  under  it,  for  a 
bear  is  just  like  you  and  Waggles;  he's  al 
ways  hungry." 

Harry  passed  over  this  slur  on  himself  and 
Ms  much-admired  pup  and  asked: 

"But  why  should  the  porcupine  want  to 
eat  your  snowshoes?" 

"The  porcupine,"  his  big  brother  began 


OF  THE  OHIPPEWA  33 

with  a  smile,  "has  a  kink  in  his  character 
like  the  Indian.  An  Indian  will  sell  his  soul 
for  a  jug  of  whisky,  and  if  the  porcupine  had 
a  thousand  souls  he  would  sell  them  all  for 
an  old  salt  barrel  and  then  he'd  eat  up  the 
old  barrel  from  top  to  butt.  He's  plumb 
crazy  for  salt  and  will  risk  his  life  to  get  it. 

"I  suppose  he  imagined  those  snowshoes 
smelled  of  salt,  so  he  tasted  them  to  make 
sure.  If  there  had  been  any  salt  in  them  he 
would  have  eaten  them  up. 

"But  now  let's  get  busy  and  make  camp. 
You  may  cut  some  balsam  boughs  and  make 
a  bed  and  I'll  set  up  the  tent  and  make  sup 
per.  ' ' 

Harry  cut  down  two  bushy  balsam-firs  and 
with  his  sharp  sheath-knife  cut  off  the 
branches  about  a  foot  and  a  half  long.  Two 
armfuls  he  laid  in  position  to  serve  as  pil 
lows.  The  other  boughs  he  arranged  in  a 
thick  soft  layer.  The  butt  of  each  bough  was 
set  on  the  ground  while  the  soft  sprays 
slanted  upward  toward  the  pillows  of  the 
boys.  Then  he  spread  a  blanket  over  the 


34  THE  SILVER  ISLAND 

soft  green  mattress  of  boughs  and  laid  out 
the  second  blanket  ready  to  be  used  as  a 
cover. 

"Look  here,  Dan,"  he  asked  when  he  was 
through;  "how's  this?" 

"Good  job,"  remarked  Dan;  "you  did  it 
quick  and  just  as  I  showed  you.  Now  get 
ready  for  supper." 

Harry  ran  quickly  to  the  pond,  hastily 
washed  his  hands  and  face,  and  sat  down  at 
the  camp-fire. 

"Hand  out  the  goods,  Dan,"  he  said. 
"Can  I  eat  all  I  want  now?  I  never  was  so 
nearly  starved  in  my  life." 

"Yes,  you  can  eat  all  you  want  of  this  sup 
per  if  you  will  eat  slowly.  We  have  plenty 
of  time;  it  will  not  be  dark  for  three  hours 
yet." 

Waggles  had  curled  up  for  a  nap  as  soon 
as  he  saw  that  his  masters  were  making 
camp.  But  Waggles  had  either  been  born 
with  or  had  acquired  the  ability  to  wake  up 
when  supper  was  served.  He  uncurled  him 
self,  shook  his  soft  hanging  ears  into  proper 


OF  THE  CHIPPEWA  35 

position,  sat  down  where  the  smoke  did  not 
strike  him,  and  with  his  brown  eyes  he  be 
gan  to  look  most  appealingly  at  Harry;  from 
time  to  time  he  uttered  a  low  whine  and 
wagged  his  tail  as  far  as  that  was  possible 
in  his  sitting  posture. 

"Lie  down,  Waggles!"  ordered  Dan; 
"What's  the  matter  with  your  table  man 
ners?" 

"Oh,  come  on,  Dan,"  pleaded  Harry; 
"he's  one  of  us  now;  he  doesn't  have  to  wait 
till  we  are  through.  Let  me  give  him  a  veni 
son  bone.  I  know  he's  half  starved." 

Dan  did  not  object,  but  remarked  with  a 
smile:  "Mother  spoiled  both  you  and  the 
pup. ' ' 

Waggles  seemed  to  comprehend  the  situa 
tion  perfectly.  He  stood  up,  whined  a  little 
louder,  wagged  his  tail,  licked  his  chops  and 
spoke  and  pawed  for  his  bone  with  a  will  as 
soon  as  Harry  had  it  ready. 

Dan  had  set  up  a  big  supper,  consisting  of 
a  lot  of  Mother's  biscuits  heated  in  a  frying- 
pan,  several  big  chunks  of  venison  and  some 


36  THE  SILVER  ISLAND 

most  fragrant  rashers  of  bacon;  but  it  all 
went,  and  Waggles  disposed  of  the  bones  and 
crumbs  and  scraps  and  was  looking  for  more. 

''My,"  said  Harry,  when  he  had  drunk 
his  cup  of  hot  tea  and  the  tin  dishes  had  been 
washed  and  turned  over  near  the  fire,  "I'm 
mighty  glad  I  made  the  bed  before  supper. 
I  couldn't  do  it  now.  I'm  too  full  to  wig 
gle." 

Soon  the  evening  grew  cool.  The  boys 
put  on  their  Mackinaw  coats  and  added  some 
more  dry  wood  to  the  fire,  while  Waggles 
curled  up  as  close  to  the  fire  as  he  could  with 
out  singeing  his  hair. 

As  the  boys  had  no  more  work  to  do  for 
the  day,  they  became  conscious  once  more 
of  the  woodland  sounds.  Whitethroats,  her 
mits  and  veeries  were  again  in  full  song,  a 
junco  tinkled  his  plain  ditty  from  a  near-by 
opening,  while  from  the  alder  marsh  behind 
them  came  the  sweet  warble  of  the  winter 
wren,  much  more  musical  than  the  song  of 
the  house  wren. 

From  the  top  of  a  tall  spruce  near  the 


OF  THE  CHIPPEWA  37 

pool  in  front  of  them  came  a  wild  and  weird 
sound  new  to  Harry.  "Yip  pe  weer!"  the 
bird  seemed  to  cry. 

"What  is  it,  Dan?"  the  smaller  boy  asked. 
"It's  sure  a  funny  song." 

"It's  some  kind  of  a  fly-catcher.  There 
he  sits  on  the  top  of  a  spruce.  Look  how  he 
darts  after  flies  from  time  to  time." 

From  the  lake  came  the  long-drawn  cry 
of  a  loon. 

"Listen,  Dan,"  remarked  Harry  with  a 
twinkle;  "there's  a  fellow  who  makes  a  big 
noise  in  the  woods.  He  sure  beats  me  and 
the  pup." 

"Yes,"  replied  Dan,  "but  there's  some 
meaning  in  his  noise.  He's  calling  to  his 
mate  or  his  young  and  he  must  call  loud  be 
cause  they  are  often  a  mile  or  more  away." 
And  again  the  long-drawn  scream  rang  out, 
sounding  almost  like  a  sharp  howl  of  a  dog 
or  wolf. 

Then  the  boys  talked  about  home  and 
Harry  wondered  if  they  could  ever  send 
word  home  to  tell  how  they  were  getting 


38  THE  SILVER  ISLAND 

along,  and  Dan  thought  they  might  fall  in 
with  some  Indians  or  trappers  who  could 
take  a  message  to  their  parents  and  sister. 

It  was  still  daylight  when  the  boys  crept 
under  their  blankets  and  closed  the  tent  so 
no  mosquitoes  could  get  in.  For  a  few  min 
utes  they  lay  listening  to  the  whitethroats ' 
"Sow  wheat,  Peaverly,  Peaverly,  Peaverly," 
and  to  the  hermits'  weird  "Whirree,  whirree 
— zee,  zee,"  then,  after  the  fatigue  and  ex 
citement  of  the  day,  drowsiness  overcame 
them  and  they  fell  into  a  dreamless  sleep 
with  Waggles  curled  up  at  the  foot  of  their 
bed. 


CHAPTER  V 

WAGGLES   IS   INITIATED 

THE  June  nights  are  short  in  the  north 
woods.  When  the  lads  awoke,  the 
sun  was  'sending  its  slanting  rays 
through  the  boughs  and  bushes  and  a  medley 
of  bird  song  filled  the  woods.  Harry  had  a 
feeling  that  he  had  been  dreaming  of  white- 
throats  and  hermits  and  veeries  and  that  it 
was  their  music  that  woke  him  up. 

"Pesky  things,"  he  drawled,  still  half 
asleep.  "I  wish  they'd  let  a  fellow  sleep." 

"Bub  your  eyes,  kid,"  Dan  told  him; 
"they  have  been  singing  their  best  ever  since 
three  o'clock.  It  takes  more  than  bird  song 
to  wake  you.  A  pair  of  loons  had  a  fine 
long-distance  talk  an  hour  ago.  One  gave 
his  cry  right  above  our  tent  and  you  never 
heard  him." 

39 


40  THE  SILVER  ISLAND 


i  i 


'I  surely  did  sleep  some,"  admitted 
Harry,  as  he  sat  up  and  stretched  himself. 

As  they  sat  eating  their  breakfast  they 
heard  a  splash  on  the  other  side  of  the  pool 
and  saw  something  red  step  into  the  water 
for  a  drink. 

"Look,  Dan,  look!"  whispered  Harry. 
"Waggles,  you  fool  pup,  lie  down!  It's  a 
big  buck!  Doesn't  he  look  fine!" 

They  watched  the  buck  through  some  thin 
bushes  as  he  began  to  feed  around  the  pool. 
In  a  little  while  he  had  passed  around  far 
enough  to  get  the  wind  of  the  boys  and  the 
dog.  He  threw  his  head  up  high  and  looked 
sharp  at  the  campers.  A  minute  later  he 
sprang  into  the  thicket  behind  him. 

"Keep  perfectly  still,"  whispered  Dan; 
"there  he  is  again!" 

The  head  and  antlers  of  the  buck  appeared, 
pushed  out  of  the  thick  branches  of  white 
cedar.  He  sniffed  the  air  a  minute,  then 
gave  a  long  whistling  snort  and  disappeared 
in  the  thicket.  Twice  more  he  snorted  and 
for  about  five  minutes  they  heard  him  stamp 


OF  THE  CHIPPEWA  41 

and  slash  about  in  the  brush.  Waggles  was 
tense  with  subdued  excitement.  His  hair 
bristled  and,  try  as  he  might,  he  couldn't  help 
uttering  just  the  lowest  kind  of  whine  through 
his  nose. 

"Let's  give  him  a  run  after  the  buck!" 

"Not  by  a  long  sight!  If  he  starts  that, 
he 's  spoiled  and  will  be  chasing  after  deer  all 
the  time." 

"Do  you  think  we'll  see  lots  of  deer  and 
moose  on  our  trip?" 

"Yes,  we  ought  to  see  hundreds  of  them. 
From  here  to  Grand  Portage  we'll  make 
about  four  hundred  miles  as  we  follow  the 
bends  of  the  long  crooked  lake  and  wind 
about  amongst  the  islands,  and  both  deer  and 
moose  go  into  the  water  a  great  deal  on  all 
fine  days  from  now  till  August." 

"Are  we  going  to  hunt  any?  Our  grub 
isn't  going  to  last  long." 

"We  won't  have  time  to  hunt  and  won't 
need  to  hunt.  We'll  get  a  yearling  buck  now 
and  then  and  jerk  the  meat  and  you  can  fish 
all  you  want. 


42  THE  SILVEB  ISLAND 

"Now  I  must  get  some  birch,  bark  and 
spruce  root  to  fix  the  canoe. 

"You  and  Waggles  can  go  down  to  the 
lake;  it's  only  about  a  hundred  yards  straight 
south.  See  if  you  can  get  us  a  few  fish  for 
dinner  and  supper  and  look  out  you  don't 
get  lost." 

"Can  I  go  in  swimming?" 

"No,  Harry.  No  swimming  when  I  am 
not  with  you.  The  lake  is  cold  and  very 
deep  and  I'd  be  worried  if  you  went  in  alone. 
We'll  both  go  down  this  evening  and  have  a 
dip." 

Harry  worked  his  way  carefully  across  the 
woods  to  the  lake.  With  the  aid  of  some 
brush  he  caught  some  minnows  for  bait,  and 
within  a  few  hours  he  had  all  the  bass  and 
wall-eyed  pike  that  he  and  Dan  could  eat 
that  day. 

As  Harry  and  Waggles  were  slowly  stroll 
ing  through  the  woods  back  to  camp,  the  dog, 
who  was  a  few  rods  ahead  of  Harry,  began 
to  bark  furiously  at  something.  Harry  ran 
up  and  found  that  Waggles  was  barking  and 


OF  THE  CHIPPEWA  43 

dancing  around  a  porcupine.  He  was  so 
much  interested  in  this  new  strange  animal 
that  he  paid  no  attention  to  Harry's  calling, 
and  before  Harry  could  pull  him  away,  the 
dog  had  closed  in  and  the  porcupine's  spiny 
tail  had  struck  him  a  savage  blow  square 
on  the  right  side  of  his  face. 

Such  howls  of  agony  Waggles  never  let 
out  before!  He  jumped  up  in  the  air,  he 
rolled  on  the  ground,  he  pawed  at  his  face, 
shrieking  all  the  time  with  agony.  Harry 
tried  to  call  him  but  "Waggles  didn't  hear. 

At  last  Harry  picked  him  up  and  ran  to 
camp  with  him  as  fast  as  he  could.  But  he 
had  a  hard  time  to  hold  the  writhing  dog, 
and  got  his  own  arms  and  hands  full  of  por 
cupine  quills. 

"What  in  the  world  is  up?"  exclaimed 
Dan,  as  the  yelping  dog  and  the  crying  boy 
came  near  camp. 

' '  Waggles — Waggles — found — a  porcu — 
porcupine!"  cried  Harry  between  sobs. 

"Dan,  come,  help  him.  Quick!  It'll  kill 
him.  He 's  all  froth  at  the  mouth ! ' ' 


44  THE  SILVER  ISLAND 

Dan  threw  the  end  of  a  blanket  over  Wag 
gles. 

"Hold  him  down  tight!"  he  told  Harry. 

Then  he  seized  a  pair  of  pincers  and  be 
gan  to  pull  out  the  spines. 

It  was  such  a  terribly  painful  operation 
that  the  poor  dog  couldn't  help  uttering  many 
a  yelp  of  pain  as  the  spines  were  pulled 
out. 

Poor  Waggles  looked  as  if  he  was  grow 
ing  a  new  grizzled  beard  all  over  his  face. 
Carefully,  so  as  not  to  break  them,  Dan 
pulled  the  spines  out  of  his  nose,  his  mouth 
and  his  tongue.  Many  stuck  through  his  ear 
flap,  some  had  pinned  his  eyelids  together 
and  others  were  in  his  right  fore  leg  and 
shoulder.  At  last  Dan  had  pulled  out  all  he 
could  find,  over  a  hundred  by  actual  count. 

Harry  gave  his  dog  a  wash  in  the  pool  and 
put  him  to  bed  in  the  tent. 

"I'll  kill  every  one  of  those  beasts  I  come 
across,"  he  vowed.  "What  are  they  good 
for  anyhow?  Can  they  throw  the  quills? 
Are  they  poisonous?" 


OF  THE  CHIPPEWA  45 

"No,  they  can't  throw  them,  and  they 
aren't  poisonous,"  Dan  answered. 

Harry  wanted  to  know  several  other 
things  about  the  porcupine  and  Dan  showed 
him  the  barbed  ridges  which  make  it  so  hard 
to  pull  them  out  and  cause  them  to  work  in 
deeper  and  deeper.  He  told  him  that  young 
wild  animals  or  animals  crazed  with  hunger 
sometimes  attack  the  porcupine  and  then  get 
punished  like  Waggles. 

"Once,"  he  said,  "when  I  was  trapping 
in  northern  Michigan,  I  found  the  skin  of  a 
porcupine  neatly  slit  open  below  and  pulled 
off  and  the  porcupine  eaten  up.  Trappers 
say  the  fisher  knows  how  to  do  this  trick,  but 
I  haven't  seen  it  done. 

"You  had  better  not  kill  any  porcupines. 
They  are  harmless  and  glad  to  be  let  alone. 
If  you  are  ever  starving  in  the  woods,  a 
porcupine  may  save  your  life,  because  it's 
about  the  only  game  a  man  can  find  almost 
any  day  and  kill  with  a  club." 

"I'd  rather  starve  than  eat  a  porcupine." 

"No,  you  wouldn 't.    A  porcupine  is  a  clean 


46  THE  SILVER  ISLAND 

animal  and  eats  nothing  but  bark  and  twigs 
and  leaves  and  such  things,  and  if  the  meat 
is  parboiled  it  isn't  bad,  though  it  is  a  little 
strong." 

"Waggles  took  no  interest  in  anything  for 
several  days.  His  face  swelled  up  as  if  he 
had  the  mumps,  his  right  eye  was  closed  and 
he  walked  on  three  legs. 

1  'I  bet,"  remarked  Harry,  "he  won't 
tackle  any  more  porcus,  Dan. ' ' 

"He  will  not  if  he  has  any  sense.  But 
some  dogs,  like  some  humans,  learn  nothing 
from  experience;  they  are  just  born  foolish. 

"I  hope  we  have  not  attracted  any  visitors 
by  all  this  noise.  We'll  be  off  early  to-mor 
row.  I'm  anxious  to  get  away  from  here." 


CHAPTER  VI 

OFF    ON   A   LONG    CRUISE 

WITH  a  clear  sky  and  no  wind 
they  started  on  their  long 
cruise  next  morning.  As  far  as 
possible  they  avoided  the  usual  canoe  routes, 
but  looked  carefully  through  all  the  bays 
away  from  the  main  route  of  travel. 

"If  Silver  Island  is  not  in  Lake  Superior," 
reasoned  Dan,  "it  must  lie  in  some  bay  sel 
dom  visited  by  any  one  except  gulls  and  cor 
morants,  or  in  some  near-by  lake  which 
Hamigeesek  may  have  visited  on  his  trip. 
There  is  no  use  in  looking  for  it  on  the  regu 
lar  routes,  because  these  have  been  traveled 
by  the  birch  bark  of  the  Chippewas  for 
maybe  a  thousand  years  and  by  the  white 
fur-traders  for  at  least  a  century." 

In  the  evening  Dan  always  carried  the  boat 
ashore  and  hid  it  in  the  timber,  while  he  al- 

47 


48  THE  SILVER  ISLAND 

ways  made  camp  still  farther  back  in  the 
timber,  so  their  fire  and  smoke  could  not  be 
seen  from  the  lake. 

In  the  course  of  a  few  days  they  examined 
dozens  of  small  islands  but  all  consisted  of 
the  same  hard  reddish  rock  with  nothing  on 
them  but  the  white  droppings  of  water 
birds. 

On  the  third  day  Dan  killed  a  young  buck 
who  was  standing  in  shallow  water  as  the 
canoe  rounded  a  curve, — it  was  the  first  shot 
they  had  fired  on  the  whole  trip.  They 
pulled  the  yearling  into  the  canoe  and 
stopped  at  noon  to  dress  their  game  and  pre 
pare  the  meat. 

The  meat  was  salted  after  all  the  bone  had 
been  cut  out,  and  was  then  dried  and  smoked 
and  cooked  at  the  same  time  on  a  frame  of 
slender  poles  under  which  Dan  kept  a  slow 
fire  until  midnight. 

"See  what  a  big  heart  this  little  buck 
has ! ' '  remarked  Harry  as  Dan  took  out  the 
entrails. 

"A  deer  needs  a  powerful  heart  to  run 


OF  THE  CHIPPEWA  49 

away  from  the  wolves  in  winter  and  early 
spring.'' 

As  Harry  examined  the  small  velvet-cov 
ered  antlers  of  the  buck  he  wanted  to  know 
why  the  does  and  moose  cows  didn't  have 
horns  to  drive  away  the  wolves  from  their 
fawns  and  calves. 

"They  don't  need  them,"  Dan  informed 
him.  "If  they  have  to  fight  a  wolf  or  coy 
ote,  or  lynx  or  wild  cat,  they  strike  with  their 
forefeet,  and  their  hoofs  cut  like  knives.  But 
wolves  don't  bother  deer  and  moose  much  in 
summer;  they  destroy  big  game  when  the 
deep  snow  is  covered  with  a  thin  crust  which 
makes  deer  and  moose  break  through  at 
every  step,  but  which  allows  the  wolves  to 
run  right  over  the  snow." 

"What  do  the  bucks  and  bull  moose  use 
their  horns  for?" 

"For  fighting  each  other  in  the  rutting 
season.  At  that  time  the  bucks  and  bulls  do 
a  lot  of  fighting;  you  may  see  some  of  them 
at  it  if  we  are  still  in  the  woods  in  Septem 
ber  and  October." 


50  THE  SILVEB  ISLAND 

" Wouldn't  you  like  to  be  a  hunter  and 
trapper,  Dan?" 

"No,  I  wouldn't.  It's  a  cruel  and  bloody 
business.  I  want  to  find  that  island  and  then 
we  '11  all  go  back  to  Detroit  if  Father 's  health 
is  good,  and  I'll  go  back  to  Harvard  and  fin 
ish  my  course  there.  I'd  rather  study  under 
Professor  Agassiz  than  do  anything  else.  I 
would  rather  not  trap  at  all,  but  a  man  can't 
earn  any  money  by  anything  else  in  this 
country. ' ' 

And  thus  the  journey  continued.  The  lads 
were  on  the  water  from  ten  to  twelve  hours 
daily,  searching  through  every  bay  and  out- 
of-the-way  channel,  while  a  long  spell  of  fine 
weather  allowed  them  to  make  from  thirty 
to  fifty  miles  a  day.  Dan,  seated  in  the 
stern,  picked  the  course  and  steered,  Harry, 
in  the  bow,  worked  steadily  with  his  light 
spruce  paddle,  while  Waggles,  who  had  com 
pletely  recovered  from  the  results  of  his  en 
counter  with  the  porcupine,  snoozed  lazily 
among  the  packs  in  the  middle,  and  when  he 
couldn't  sleep  any  more,  he  sat  up  on  his 


OF  THE  CHIPPEWA  51 

haunches  and  watched  things  on  shore  and  in 
the  air  with  as  much  interest  as  the  boys 
themselves,  and  he  looked  as  if  he  would  take 
part  in  the  conversations  and  discussions  if 
he  only  had  the  ability  to  talk. 

When  a  big  buck  or  a  doe  with  her  two 
spotted  fawns  stood  and  gazed  at  the  pass 
ing  canoe,  Waggles  always  woke  up  and 
whined  as  if  he  wanted  to  ask  permission  to 
jump  out  of  the  boat.  Sometimes  he  sniffed 
the  air  and  whined  with  excitement  when  the 
boys  could  neither  see  nor  hear  nor  smell  any 
thing. 

"I  guess  he  smells  a  wild  cat  or  a  lynx," 
said  Dan.  "He  certainly  hates  cats  and 
used  to  have  some  great  cat  hunts  in  De 
troit,  but  he'd  last  just  about  five  seconds 
with  one  of  these  wild  forest  cats." 

But  whenever  the  wind  brought  the  strong 
rancid  odor  of  porcupine  from  shore,  Wag 
gles  sidled  around  in  his  place  and  quivered 
and  whined  and  growled  with  excitement, 
and  one  morning  when  the  canoe  passed 
within  two  rods  of  a  porcupine  which  had 


52  THE  SILVER  ISLAND 

climbed  out  on  a  fallen  log  and  was  leisurely 
pulling  yellow  lily  leaves  out  of  the  water 
for  his  breakfast,  Waggles  would  have 
jumped  overboard  if  Dan  had  not  gently 
tapped  him  on  the  head  with  the  paddle  and 
sharply  ordered  him  to  lie  down. 

"I  believe  that  flap-eared  terrier  will 
start  a  scrap  again  with  the  next  porcupine 
he  meets,"  commented  Dan.  "If  he  does, 
I  '11  tie  a  stone  to  his  neck  and  drop  him  in  the 
lake." 

"Oh,  come  off  now,  Dan!"  remonstrated 
Harry.  * '  You  wouldn  't ! 

"Shucks!  You  don't  blame  him  for  hav 
ing  a  grouch  against  porcupines,  do  you?  I 
wouldn't  have  a  pup  who's  always  scared 
and  can't  fight  anything. 

"You're  all  right,  Waggles!  Great  pup. 
I'll  kill  the  porcus  for  you." 

"No,  you  won't,"  laughed  Dan.  "You 
and  your  pup  just  steer  shy  of  porcupines." 

But  one  thing  Waggles  was  afraid  of, 
much  to  the  amusement  of  the  boys. 

Whenever  one  of  the  big  white  herring- 


OF  THE  CHIPPEWA  53 

gulls  sailed  close  over  or  past  the  boat,  as 
they  often  did,  Waggles  ducked  his  head  and 
looked  after  it  quizzically  as  if  he  meant  to 
ask: 

"What  sort  of  spook  is  that,  anyhow?" 

To  the  great  eagles  and  fish-hawks,  and 
the  big  black  turkey  buzzards,  who  often 
floated  or  sailed  in  graceful  spirals  high 
overhead,  the  dog  paid  no  attention;  evi 
dently  they  were  beyond  the  reach  of  his 
vision. 

On  about  the  tenth  day  out,  as  the  boys 
were  headed  into  a  wide  open  bay,  the 
weather,  which  had  been  threatening  for  an 
hour,  suddenly  changed,  and  a  strong  north 
wester  raised  big  waves  on  the  lake. 

"Work  hard,  kid,"  said  Dan.  "We're  in 
for  a  squall;  we  must  make  the  north  shore 
as  quickly  as  we  can." 

Within  fifteen  minutes  the  white  caps 
broke  over  the  gunwale. 

"Drop  the  paddle,  Harry,  and  bale  her  out ! 
Quick,  or  we'll  be  swamped!"  ordered  Dan, 
excitedly. 


54  THE  SILVER  ISLAND 

And  Harry,  kneeling  in  several  inches  of 
water,  worked  as  he  had  never  worked  be 
fore.  But  the  storm  and  waves  increased 
every  minute,  and  wave  after  wave  splashed 
over  the  gunwale. 

The  gale  made  it  impossible  for  Dan  to 
head  the  canoe  just  right,  and  a  big  wave 
rushed  in  with  a  swash,  but  the  next  moment 
with  a  few  desperate  strokes,  Dan  pushed  the 
canoe  up  on  a  sand-beach  in  the  lee  of  a  high 
bare  island  of  rock. 

" Thank  God!"  he  exclaimed.  "I  surely 
thought  we'd  have  to  swim  for  it." 

Over  their  paddles  and  a  few  pieces  of 
driftwood  the  brothers  hurriedly  threw  their 
tent  and  weighed  the  edges  down  with  rocks. 
Their  canoe  and  packs  they  had  already 
pulled  up  out  of  reach  of  the  waves. 

And  then  the  cold  rain  came  down  as  if 
the  heavens  had  been  slashed  wide  open. 
The  lake  and  the  shore  close  by  were  swal 
lowed  up  in  the  gray  mass  of  storm-lashed 
torrents.  Even  the  echoes  of  the  crashes  of 
thunder  from  the  wall  of  the  tall  pines  on 


OF  THE  CHIPPEWA  55 

the  mainland  were  swallowed  in  the  up 
roar. 

The  sunlit  lake  and  forest  had  vanished 
before  their  eyes,  and  the  world  had  been 
transformed  into  a  furious  swirling  mass  of 
gray  water,  cut  and  slashed  by  a  rapid  suc 
cession  of  straight  flashes  of  lightning,  fol 
lowed  immediately  by  sharp  crashes  as  if 
immense  cannon  balls  were  fired  into  a  thick 
stand  of  pines. 

And  still  the  tumult  seemed  to  grow. 
Louder  and  still  louder  a  deep  roar  seemed 
to  approach  from  the  northwest. 

"What  is  it?"  whispered  Harry,  turning 
a  blanched  face  to  his  brother. 

And  then  a  white  stone  jumped  up  from 
the  rock  in  front  of  them  and  another  and 
still  more,  thousands  of  them  now,  and  the 
deep  deafening  roar  of  a  hailstorm  enveloped 
them  and  shut  them  in.  On  the  tent  the  white 
stones  slumped  and  rumbled,  on  the  rock 
they  fell  with  a  sharp  crackling,  and  the 
pieces  rebounded  and  squirmed  as  high  as 
the  tent  and  over  it.  Into  the  lake  they 


56  THE  SILVER  ISLAND 

plunged  and  plumped,  millions  and  millions 
of  them,  with  a  noise  the  like  of  which  Dan, 
in  all  his  experiences,  had  never  heard. 

In  less  than  half  an  hour  the  fury  of  the 
storm  had  passed,  but  the  wind  continued 
high  and  shower  after  shower  was  driven  up 
from  the  northwest. 

"What  are  we  going  to  do?"  asked  Harry. 

"We'll  stay  here  until  the  world  has  time 
to  get  quieted  down  again,"  replied  Dan. 
"There's  plenty  of  driftwood  lying  around, 
and  when  we  can  get  a  fire  started  we'll  be 
all  right." 

Starting  a  fire  was  not  as  difficult  as  the 
novice  in  woodcraft  might  think.  With  a 
sharp  ax  they  had  soon  cut  out  some  dry 
chips  of  fatwood  from  an  old  pine.  Some 
more  dry  pieces  were  cut  out  of  the  heart  of 
a  drift  log,  and  in  a  little  while  they  had  a 
fire  on  which  any  kind  of  fuel  would  burn. 
As  the  old  stumps  and  logs  began  to  crackle 
in  the  big  blaze  in  front  of  their  open  tent, 
the  boys  were  soon  as  warm  and  comfortable 


OF  THE  CHIPPEWA  57 

as  they  could  have  been  in  the  coziest  city 
parlor. 

The  weather  turning  very  cold,  they  kept 
the  fire  burning  all  night,  which  compelled 
Dan  to  get  up  twice  to  put  on  more  wood, 
while  Harry  slept  soundly  until  Dan  called 
him  in  the  morning.  Waggles  also  never  got 
out  from  under  the  blanket  at  the  foot  of 
Harry's  bed  all  night,  although  he  was  awake 
every  time  Dan  moved. 


CHAPTER  VH 

A   SPOOKY    NIGHT 

WHEN  the  boys  looked  around  in 
the  morning,  they  found  the 
pockets  among  the  rock  still 
filled  with  hailstones  the  size  of  walnuts,  and 
some  as  big  as  a  boy's  fist.  After  they  had 
been  weatherbound  on  the  island  for  two 
days,  they  continued  their  journey  and  on 
the  first  evening  they  reached  the  west  end 
of  the  largest  island  in  the  lake,  Hunter's 
Island,  which  is  surrounded  by  two  long  and 
narrow  arms  of  the  lake,  and  they  made 
camp  a  little  inland  at  the  west  point  of  it. 

The  weather  had  again  turned  very  hot 
and  having  made  about  forty  miles,  they 
turned  in  early.  But  they  were  more  tired 
than  sleepy  and  for  an  hour  they  lay  and 
talked  things  over  in  a  low  voice. 

"I  feel  as  if  we  were  lost,"  said  the  smaller 

58 


THE  SILVER  ISLAND  59 

boy.  "I  don't  see,  Dan,  how  you  can  ever 
find  your  way  in  such  a  mixed-up  country." 

"It  is  a  mixed-up  country,  sure  enough," 
replied  Dan.  "And  yet,  finding  your  way 
through  it  is  not  as  hard  as  it  looks.  I  have 
a  sketch-map  of  our  route  and  I  know  our 
general  direction  is  southeast.  The  regular 
portages  are  all  well  traveled  and  then  I've 
been  over  the  route  twice." 

"Seems  to  me  we're  ten  thousand  miles 
from  home  and  have  been  canoeing  around  a 
year.  We'll  never  find  that  little  island, 
Dan.  A  fellow  couldn't  find  a  mountain  in 
this  mix-up  of  lakes  and  islands." 

"Oh,  rot,  kid!  We  haven't  missed  any 
Silver  Island  yet.  In  fact,  I  feel  sure  it  isn't 
here;  it's  in  Lake  Superior.  The  Indians 
and  trappers  know  this  country  better  than 
you  know  your  coat  pockets. 

"We  want  to  hurry  and  get  to  Lake  Su 
perior  and  that's  where  our  search  and  our 
troubles  will  begin  in  earnest." 

"What's  the  trouble  going  to  be?" 

"The  lake  is  as  big  as  the  ocean,  and  in  a 


60  THE  SILVER  ISLAND 

storm  the  waves  run  as  high  as  a  house,  and 
sometimes  the  fog  is  so  thick  that  you  can't 
see  fifty  feet  ahead  of  you." 

"Is  it  true  that  the  lake  never  gives  up  its 
dead?" 

"Guess  it  is,  kid.  The  water  is  always 
ice-cold  and  a  body  sunk  in  it  never  rises 
again  as  it  does  in  warm,  shallow  lakes  and 
in  rivers.  Now,  I  guess  we  had  better  go  to 
sleep." 

But  Harry  couldn't  sleep.  A  pale  moon 
made  the  canvas  of  the  tent  seem  aglow  as 
with  the  spooky  phosphorescence  of  fox  fire. 
A  warm,  gray  fog  filled  the  forest  and  cov 
ered  the  lake,  and  although  not  a  breath  of 
air  was  stirring,  the  woods  were  alive  with 
sounds  and  noises  as  if  every  wild  creature 
was  moving  about  after  the  few  days  of  cold 
stormy  weather. 

Harry  had  at  last  fallen  asleep  when  a 
sharp  noise  not  far  from  the  tent  made  him 
sit  bolt  upright. 

"What  was  it,  Dan?"  he  asked,  wild-eyed 
and  shivering  with  excitement. 


OF  THE  CHIPPEWA  61 

"Ah,  shame  on  you,  kid!  I  should  think 
you  knew  the  snort  of  a  buck  by  this  time.'* 

"Listen,  Dan;  he  acts  as  if  he  were  going 
to  fight  us." 

"Fight  us,  nothing.  That's  his  danger 
signal  to  every  deer  within  hearing,  and  all 
the  other  wild  animals  understand  it,  too.  A 
buck  never  shows  himself  after  he  snorts, 
and  he  never  fights  man  or  dog  unless  he's 
cornered  or  wounded." 

The  snorting  of  the  deer  excited  a  big 
horned  owl  and  he  began  to  hoot  his  deep 
"whoo-who-whoo,  who-whoo,"  right  over  the 
tent. 

Harry  gave  a  start. 

"Whew,"  he  whispered;  "mighty  glad  I'm 
not  a  rabbit  or  a  woodchuck !  I'd  be  a  goner, 
sure ! ' ' 

As  the  deep  hooting  of  the  big  owl  died 
away  in  the  distance  a  little  screech  owl  ut 
tered  his  low,  chuckling  call  from  a  thicket, 
and  from  the  lake  came  the  piercing,  long- 
drawn  scream  of  the  loon  who  had  been 
awakened  from  his  slumber  on  the  water. 


62  THE  SILVER  ISLAND 

After  awhile  all  was  silent  once  more,  only 
a  bat  uttered  its  fine  squeak  as  it  fluttered 
around  the  tent  in  search  of  flying  insects, 
and  in  the  rotten  logs  the  big  grubs  could 
be  plainly  heard  gnawing  the  dead  wood. 

Waggles  had  not  shown  any  interest  in 
any  of  these  noises.  He  always  bristled  at 
the  scent  of  a  porcupine  and  lynx,  but  to  the 
scent  and  snorting  of  deer  he  had  grown  in 
different. 

The  boys  talked  for  another  half -hour  and 
once  more  were  both  dozing  off,  when  sud 
denly  the  dog  did  become  interested  in  some 
slight  noise  outside.  He  lifted  his  head, 
sniffed  the  air,  and  uttering  a  deep  angry 
growl,  he  shot  out  of  the  tent,  and  with  a 
combination  of  savage  growls,  snarls,  shrieks 
and  barks,  he  fought  and  pursued  something 
which  rapidly  slipped  through  the  under 
brush  with  the  dog  hot  on  its  heels. 

Dan  jumped  into  his  boots,  grabbed  his 
gun,  and  without  saying  a  word  to  Harry, 
ran  after  the  dog,  which  he  overtook  on  the 
lake  shore,  still  mad  with  fright  and  acting 


OF  THE  CHIPPEWA  63 

as  if  he  would  swim  after  something  that 
had  just  taken  to  the  water. 

But  Dan  could  see  nothing,  and  no  matter 
how  intently  he  listened,  there  was  not  a 
sound.  Whatever  Waggles  had  chased,  it 
seemed  to  have  dived  to  the  bottom  as 
silently  as  might  a  loon.  The  cause  of  all  this 
excitement,  whatever  it  had  been,  had 
vanished  like  a  ghost.  Only  the  pale  moon 
light  and  the  gray  fog  enveloped  lake  and 
forest,  the  black,  deep  water  lay  before  them, 
and  behind  them  stood  the  forest,  dark  and 
silent. 

"It  beats  me!"  whispered  Dan,  as  Harry 
came  running  up,  clad  only  in  his  boots  and 
flannel  shirt.  "What  in  the  world  can  the 
pup  have  been  chasing? 

"Lynx,  cat  or  porcupine  or  bear  wouldn't 
have  taken  to  the  water.  It  might  have  been 
a  moose,  but  your  pup  never  showed  any  in 
terest  in  moose-scent  and  if  it  was  a  moose, 
I  ought  to  have  heard  it  getting  out  on  the 
other  shore;  it's  only  a  few  hundred  yards 
across." 


64  THE  SILVER  ISLAND 

"I — I  bet,  it — it  was  a  man!"  whispered 
Harry,  scarcely  able  to  speak  after  his  run. 

"We'll  find  out  in  the  morning  what  it 
•was,"  said  Dan,  as  they  picked  their  way 
back  to  the  tent.  "If  it  was  a  man,  I  know 
who  it  was ! ' ' 

"Who?"  asked  Harry. 

"Le  Noir,  that  half -breed.  Everybody 
thinks  he's  a  scoundrel,  though  nobody  ever 
proved  a  crime  on  him. 

"Two  years  ago  a  half -breed  from  Ottawa 
went  trapping  with  Le  Noir  to  the  Lake  of 
the  Woods.  Le  Noir  came  back  in  the  spring 
with  a  big  lot  of  fur  and  told  that  the  Ottawa 
man  was  drowned  in  a  storm  on  Lake  of 
the  Woods.  Anyway,  the  man  never  came 
back,  and  being  a  stranger,  nobody  went  to 
the  trouble  to  investigate." 

"Do  you  think  Le  Noir  killed  him?" 

"That's  what  everybody  suspects,  but  no 
body  has  proved  it." 

"What  could  Le  Noir  want  of  us?" 

"Make  trouble,  and  get  a  share  of  the  Is 
land,  if  we  find  it.  Or  he  might  kill  us  and 


OF  THE  CHIPPEWA  65 

get  it  all.  I  don't  trust  him  out  of  sight. 
He's  got  the  shifting  eye  and  is  a  sort  of 
combination  bad  white  man  and  bad  Indian. 
He's  a  regular  spy.  He's  probably  heard 
some  rumor  about  Hamigeesek  finding  a  sil 
ver  mine.  I  know  that  he  was  bursting  to 
find  out  where  Hamigeesek  and  Sellsby  had 
gone  to,  and,  of  course,  he  was  curious  to 
find  out  where  we  had  gone  as  soon  as  he 
learned  we  had  left  St.  Frances  on  a  trip 
'east.' 

' 'If  he  is  on  our  trail,  we  have  our  work 
cut  out.  It  will  be  mighty  hard  to  lose  him, 
for  he  was  born  in  the  Chippewa  country 
and  knows  this  tangle  of  lakes  and  woods  a 
great  deal  better  than  I  do.  Well,  we'll  do 
some  sharp  tracking  in  the  morning." 

There  was  no  more  sleep  for  the  boys  that 
night.  Again  and  again  they  thought  they 
heard  the  furtive  tread  of  Indian  or  half- 
breed,  but  the  calm  sleep  of  Waggles  reas 
sured  them  that  it  was  only  the  falling  of  a 
rotten  twig  or  the  scurrying  of  some  little 
woodmouse  or  other  harmless  creature. 


66  THE  SILVER  ISLAND 

"Waggles  has  the  advantage  of  us,"  ob 
served  Dan,  as  the  first  gray  dawn  made 
things  in  the  tent  visible.  "Our  eyes  and 
ears  are  easily  fooled,  but  you  can't  fool  that 
pup's  nose." 

As  they  were  talking,  Waggles  began  to 
make  some  queer  motions  and  noises. 

"Look  at  him,"  chuckled  Harry;  "he's 
dreaming ! ' ' 

Evidently  even  the  nerves  of  Waggles  had 
been  unstrung  by  his  adventure,  and  he  was 
living  it  all  over  again  in  his  dream. 

Lying  flat  on  his  side,  his  short  legs  and 
his  feet  jerked  and  kicked  as  if  he  was  try 
ing  hard  to  run.  His  eyes  were  closed,  but 
his  lips  twitched  and  he  barked  and  yelped 
through  his  nose  in  such  a  funny  way  that 
Harry  broke  into  a  loud  laugh  and  called: 
"Cats,  Waggles,  cats!"  at  which  the  dog 
sprang  up  with  a  start,  to  the  great  amuse 
ment  of  both  of  the  boys. 

As  soon  as  it  was  daylight,  they  put  the 
dog  on  the  trail  of  their  mysterious  visitor. 
No  sign  of  moose  or  bear  could  be  found  in 


OF  THE  CHIPPEWA  67 

the  woods,  and  the  short  brush  and  weeds 
gave  them  no  other  clue. 

At  the  lake,  the  trail  led  over  a  small  patch 
of  grass  right  down  to  the  water's  edge. 

"Look  here,  Dan,"  Harry  pointed  out; 
"here's  a  moccasin  track  and  here's  the 
mark  of  a  canoe  where  it  was  pulled  out  of 
the  water." 

"It's  Le  Noir!"  Dan  asserted.  "Hang 
the  scoundrel!  He's  watching  us  now  from 
some  ambush.  But  we'll  shake  him  yet. 
Bless  his  soul  if  I  ever  catch  him  at  this 
dirty  game  of  his!" 

"Maybe  it  was  an  Indian  ghost,  Dan!" 

"Oh,  rats,  Harry!  I  hope  you  don't  be 
lieve  in  such  nonsense  even  if  you're  only  a 
kid,"  Dan  came  out  bluntly.  "It's  only  the 
blooming  cowards  who  see  ghosts.  There 
aren't  any  ghosts,  neither  red  nor  white. 
That  thing  last  night  was  a  live  man. ' ' 


CHAPTER  VIII 

LOSING  THE   SPY  AND   FINDING  A   QUEER   ISLAND 

WHILE  the  brothers  were  eating 
breakfast,  Dan  unfolded  his 
plan  of  sending  their  pursuer 
off  on  a  wrong  trail. 

"I'm  convinced,"  he  began,  "that  the 
rogue  is  in  hiding  not  far  away,  where  he 
can  see  the  point  of  the  island  and  both  the 
North  and  the  South  Channel. 

"We'll  make  him  think  that  we  are  going 
to  stay  here  all  day,  but  we'll  pull  out  as 
soon  as  we  have  the  ruse  fixed  up  for  him. 

"I'll  fire  my  gun  near  the  point,  and  he 
will  think  we  shot  a  deer,  and  then  comes 
your  part  of  the  game." 

"Go  ahead,"  demanded  Harry  eagerly. 
"What's  my  stunt?" 

"After  I  have  fired  my  gun,  you  go  out  on 
the  point  and  build  a  frame  for  drying  the 


THE  SILVER  ISLAND  69 

meat  and  make  a  low,  smoldering  fire  un 
der  your  frame.  Then  I'll  bring  the  hide  of 
our  small  buck  and  hang  it  on  a  pole  where 
he  can't  help  seeing  it.  He'll  be  sure  to 
recognize  the  red  of  the  deer. 

"Then  we'll  also  build  a  good  smoking  fire 
a  little  way  back  from  the  point  and  he'll 
think  that's  our  camp-fire  where  we  are  cook 
ing  and  smoking  the  rest  of  the  meat." 

"But  how 're  we  going  to  get  away  with 
out  his  seeing  us,  Dan?" 

"That's  easy.  As  soon  as  our  fires  are 
smoking  right,  we  carry  our  canoe  half  a  mile 
through  the  woods  around  the  next  point  and 
paddle  away. 

"He  will  think  we  are  still  in  camp  and 
will  not  dare  to  show  himself  during  the  day, 
but  he'll  probably  come  nosing  around  after 
midnight.  We  will  make  a  big  plain  trail  to 
the  North  Channel  and  as  faint  a  trail  as 
possible  to  the  South  Channel.  If  he  takes 
the  North  Channel,  as  he  most  likely  will, 
he 's  lost  us ;  anyway,  we  are  a  day  ahead  of 
him." 


70  THE  SILVER  ISLAND 

The  boys  carried  out  this  plan  leisurely, 
and  with  a  fair  wind  behind  them,  they  made 
good  time  up  the  South  Channel. 

About  the  middle  of  the  afternoon  they  en 
tered  the  outlet  of  Long  Lake  which  comes 
in  from  the  south.  When  they  came  to  the 
foot  of  the  rapids  in  this  outlet,  they  did 
not  leave  the  water,  but  pushed  and  carried 
their  canoe  and  packs  up  stream,  and  to 
wards  evening  they  made  camp  in  a  secluded 
bay  on  the  west  side  of  Long  Lake,  pitching 
their  tent  on  a  dry  knoll  under  some  small 
birches  and  jack  pines. 

"Why  didn't  we  go  a  little  farther  and 
camp  in  that  grove  of  Norways?"  asked 
Harry;  "where  there  isn't  any  underbrush?" 

But  Dan  informed  him  that  it  was  never  a 
good  plan  to  camp  near  or  under  big  and 
old  trees.  "A  sudden  storm  may  break 
them  down  and  lightning  often  strikes  a  big 
tree.  If  one  cruised  these  woods  over  care 
fully,  I  don't  think  he  would  find  a  quarter- 
section  where  at  one  time  or  another  the 
lightning  hasn't  struck  some  big  tree." 


OF  THE  CHIPPEWA  71 

"Does  lightning  strike  one  kind  of  tree 
more  than  others?"  Harry  wanted  to  know. 

"I  don't  think  so.  Some  people  think 
elms  attract  the  lightning  more  than  other 
trees,  but  I  doubt  it.  It  generally  strikes 
elms  and  cottonwoods  and  Norways  and 
white  pines  because  they  are  often  bigger 
than  the  trees  around  them,  but  I  have  also 
found  spruces  that  had  been  struck." 

As  soon  as  camp  was  pitched,  the  boys 
went  for  a  swim  in  the  warm  lake.  There 
were  very  few  mosquitoes,  because  there  had 
been  very  little  rain  during  the  summer,  and 
after  supper  the  boys  sat  at  the  camp-fire 
and  enjoyed  the  summer  evening. 

The  whitethroats,  at  this  season,  had  al 
most  ceased  singing,  but  the  ecstasy  of  the 
thrushes  came  still  ringing  from  the  thickets 
around  them  until  the  sun  had  sunk  behind 
the  pines  to  the  west  and  darkness  began  to 
settle  over  the  great  forest. 

When  the  thrushes  became  silent  and  a  lit 
tle  tree-frog  struck  up  its  high-pitched,  rat 
tling  call,  the  boys  rolled  in,  and  feeling  free 


72  THE  SILVER  ISLAND 

from  danger,  they  slept  soundly  until  sev 
eral  hours  after  daylight. 

"We  might  as  well  camp  here  a  few  days," 
Dan  suggested  at  breakfast.  "  There  are 
several  small  islands  in  this  lake  that  I  have 
never  looked  at.  We  ought  to  find  plenty 
of  moose  here  and  we  want  to  give  Le  Noir 
time  to  get  a  good  ways  off  the  trail." 

Almost  two  miles  from  shore  they  saw  a 
small  island  which  presented  a  curious  ap 
pearance.  It  looked  like  a  low  white  reef, 
marked  with  black  spots  and  streaks. 

"The  queerest  dark  bushes  I  ever  saw," 
remarked  Harry. 

But  when  they  had  approached  within  a 
mile,  they  noticed  that  the  island  was  just  a 
ridge  of  sand  and  big  boulders,  and  that  it 
was  inhabited  by  flocks  of  black  cormorants 
or  nigger  geese,  as  the  trappers  call  them. 
At  least  five  hundred  of  these  large  birds 
almost  covered  the  island,  sitting  upright  and 
forming  the  large  black  streaks  and  patches 
which  the  boys  had  at  first  taken  for  dark 
bushes. 


OF  THE  CHIPPEWA  73 

As  the  canoe  approached,  there  was  a  great 
stirring  among  the  birds.  Many  of  the 
adults  took  wing,  circled  silently  above  the 
island  and  gradually  scattered  and  dis 
appeared  in  the  distance.  A  hundred  or 
more  wabbled  down  the  rocks  and  swam  away 
with  only  their  heads  and  necks  showing 
above  the  water,  while  two  or  three  hundred 
more  remained  on  the  rocks.  These  sat  bolt 
upright,  constantly  moved  their  long  necks 
and  their  long  hooked  bills  back  and  forth, 
as  if  they  were  going  to  fight  the  intruders, 
and  filled  the  air  with  a  high  deafening 
cackle. 

"Whew!"  cried  Harry,  holding  his  nose, 
as  they  walked  around  among  the  nests  and 
young  of  all  ages;  "rottenest-smelling  goose- 
coop  I  ever  was  in.  Look  at  the  lumps  of 
dead  fish!  "Where  did  they  come  from?" 

"The  nestlings  threw  them  up,  I  guess," 
ventured  Dan;  "it's  a  queer  way  they  have 
of  defending  themselves." 

The  island  certainly  was  a  sight!  Over 
a  hundred  nests  crudely  built  of  reeds  and 


74  THE  SILVER  ISLAND 

coarse  feathers,  were  scattered  over  the 
small  island,  each  containing  three  or  four 
young  or  eggs.  Many  of  the  young  were  full 
grown  and  sat  around  their  nests  like  watch 
dogs. 

"Queerest  birds  I  ever  saw!"  commented 
Harry.  "Look  at  their  long  bills  and  yel 
low  throat  pouches ! ' ' 

Some  of  the  young  did  not  yet  have  their 
eyes  open,  and  had  no  feathers.  They  were 
not  white,  like  most  young  birds,  but  were 
covered  with  a  blackish-brown  skin.  "Reg 
ular  pickaninnies!"  Dan  called  them. 

When  the  boys  were  on  one  end  of  the  is 
land,  dozens  of  the  "nigger  geese"  returned 
to  the  other  end  and  sat  on  the  rocks  and 
dried  their  wings  in  the  sun. 

"Well,  kid,  let's  pull  away  from  this,"  re 
marked  Dan.  "It's  a  great  sight,  but,"  and 
he  held  his  nose,  "this  is  not  our  island. 

"It's  going  to  be  a  corking  hot  day  and 
the  moose  will  go  into  the  lake.  Let's  be 
off  for  a  moose  hunt ! ' ' 


CHAPTER,  IX 

THE   MOOSE    HUNT 

HARRY,  who  had  never  seen  a 
moose  close  by,  wanted  to  know 
how  big  they  were. 

"As  big  as  a  horse,"  Dan  told  him.  "But 
their  legs  seem  longer,  and  the  great  horns 
of  a  big  bull  make  him  look  much  bigger  than 
a  horse.  An  old  moose  cow  looks  very  much 
like  a  mule,  but  a  moose  hasn't  any  tail  to 
speak  of  and  no  real  mane,  although  the  hair 
on  the  shoulder  hump  is  pretty  long,  espe 
cially  in  winter." 

They  laid  out  their  course  in  such  a  way 
that  they  had  the  sun  behind  them  and  the 
wind  ahead  of  them. 

"You  can't  often  get  close  if  they  get  your 
wind,"  said  Dan. 

"Are  we  going  to  shoot  one  of  them?" 
asked  Harry. 

75 


76  THE  SILVER  ISLAND 

"No;  what  for?  We  couldn't  save  more 
than  about  a  hundred  pounds  of  the  meat, 
and  a  big  moose  weighs  easily  twelve  hun 
dred  pounds  or  more.  We'll  get  another 
small  deer  when  we  need  meat.  It  would  be 
a  shame  to  kill  one  of  these  grand  animals 
and  then  let  the  maggots  and  the  wolves  eat 
it." 

"Why  can't  we  kill  a  calf?" 

"You  can,  if  you  want  to ;  but  now  we  must 
begin  to  watch,  and  if  we  find  a  calf,  I'll  let 
you  kill  it  if  you  want  to." 

Dan  was  now  sharply  scanning  the  shore 
about  a  mile  away,  where  swamps  of  white 
cedar,  tamarack,  black  spruce,  and  alder 
were  separated  from  the  lake  by  only  a  nar 
row  ridge  of  high  land. 

"That's  good  moose  country,"  he  pointed 
out.  "I  think  I  see  one  now.  Bun  your 
eyes  along  the  tamarack  swamp  just  this  side 
of  yonder  point." 

Harry  looked  for  moose  so  hard  that  he 
forgot  to  paddle. 

"Don't    see    a   thing,"   he    replied    after 


OF  THE  CHIPPEWA  77 

awhile.  "You're  not  fooling  me?  I  see  a 
lot  of  black  patches, — shadows,  I  guess  they 
are. ' ' 

"Just  peel  your  spyers,  kid.  One  of  those 
dark  patches  is  a  moose,  and  a  big  one  too. 
Watch  the  light  changing  on  one  of  the 
patches;  that  patch  is  a  moose." 

"I  see  him,  I  see  him!"  cried  Harry,  after 
some  more  sharp  spying.  "He's  near  the 
big  dead  tamarack." 

Paddling  fast  but  silently,  they  soon  were 
near  enough  to  see  that  it  was  a  big  bull, 
feeding  in  water  half-way  up  to  his  flanks. 

From  time  to  time  he  brought  up  a  big 
mouthful  of  weeds,  then  he  shook  his  head 
so  the  boys  could  plainly  hear  the  flapping 
of  his  big  ears.  The  water  ran  and  dripped 
from  the  weeds,  and  the  big  beast  chewed 
them  slowly  as  an  ox  chews  a  mouthful  of 
hay. 

"Stop  paddling  now,"  directed  Dan;  "he's 
getting  a  little  suspicious.  If  we  make  a 
noise  or  if  he  gets  our  wind  he'll  go." 

Again   the    big   head   and   antlers    disap- 


78  THE  SILVER  ISLAND 

peared  under  water  until  for  fifteen  or 
twenty  seconds  the  big  creature  looked  like 
a  boulder. 

11  Golly,"  whispered  Harry,  "he  could  beat 
me  diving.  No  wonder  that  I  couldn't  find 
him." 

After  awhile  the  animal  walked  slowly  out 
of  the  water  and  stood  on  the  point  looking 
at  the  canoe,  but  as  the  canoe  lay  perfectly 
quiet,  he  took  no  alarm  and  disappeared 
leisurely  around  the  point. 

The  boys  followed  him  around  the  point 
as  fast  as  they  could  go,  and  there  stood  the 
giant  bull,  broadside  on,  in  shallow  water. 
For  a  few  seconds  he  looked  at  the  canoeists, 
then  he  started  for  deep  water  across  the 
narrows. 

"Look,"  whispered  Harry;  "he's  a  mon 
ster!" 

"Pull,  kid,  pull!"  Dan  gave  the  word; 
"let's  try  to  head  him  off!" 

But  with  astonishing  speed  the  moose 
reached  deep  water  and  started  to  swim  with 
only  his  head  and  the  big  flat  antlers  show- 


OF  THE  CHIPPEWA  79 

ing  above  the  water.  Using  all  four  legs 
as  paddles  he  could  go  faster  than  the  canoe. 
He  rose  like  a  monster  from  the  deep  as  soon 
as  his  feet  touched  bottom  again,  and  with 
long  strides  the  powerful  legs  and  the  big 
black  hoofs  churned  the  water  into  splash 
ing  and  foaming  swirls.  With  the  light 
canoe  only  a  few  yards  behind,  he  broke 
through  the  shore  fringe  of  cedar ;  for  a  few 
seconds  he  crashed  and  slashed  through 
branches  and  underbrush,  then  the  wild  stir 
ring  sound  vanished  in  the  distance  and  the 
moose  was  gone. 

"He  won't  come  back  for  a  few  days," 
Dan  laughed.  "They  are  pretty  shy  where 
they  are  disturbed.  That's  the  reason  you 
find  very  few  of  them  along  a  regular  canoe 
route  where  the  traders  and  Indians  fire  at 
them." 

"I  tell  you,"  acknowledged  Harry,  "I 
was  scared  of  the  beast.  He'd  make  kin 
dling  of  our  boat  mighty  quick." 

"A  bull  moose  doesn't  attack  a  man  except 
in  the  rutting  season,"  Dan  replied;  "but  at 


80 

that  time  you  don't  want  to  fool  with  any 
moose  that  has  a  good  pair  of  horns  on." 

As  they  followed  the  sinuous  shore  of  the 
lake  they  saw  many  more  moose,  and  deer 
also  were  fairly  abundant.  With  one  young 
cow  which  they  found  swimming  across  a  bay 
they  started  a  regular  race  and  came  so  close 
to  her  that  they  could  almost  touch  her  with  a 
paddle.  Several  times  they  could  hear  the 
heavy  breathing  of  the  creature  and  could 
plainly  see  the  red  in  her  large  dilated  nos 
trils,  but  at  those  moments  she  always 
changed  her  course  suddenly  and  left  her  pur 
suers  behind.  This  exciting  race  continued 
for  ten  or  fifteen  minutes,  when  the  moose 
struck  bottom,  and  with  a  long  swinging  trot 
broke  for  the  thicket,  leaving  behind  her  a 
trail  of  foaming  water. 

A  very  large  cow  got  their  wind  and  heard 
them  talk  at  the  distance  of  a  quarter  of  a 
mile,  and  the  boys  could  plainly  see  the  giant 
beast  standing  in  an  inquisitive  attitude, 
sniffing  the  air  and  moving  her  big  ears  back 
and  forth  to  catch  the  strange  sounds.  Evi- 


OF  THE  CHIPPEWA  81 

iently  she  had  soon  smelled  and  heard  enough, 
for  she  turned  around  and  walked  leisurely 
into  the  forest. 

Two  big  bulls  they  found  peacefully  feed 
ing  in  a  small  bay,  but  when  the  canoe  came 
up  close,  they  swung  into  the  forest  in  dif 
ferent  directions  like  a  couple  of  gambling 
Bowery  urchins  at  the  approach  of  the  feared 
policeman. 

For  several  hours,  the  boys  were  seldom 
out  of  sight  of  either  moose  or  deer. 

"Gee,"  exclaimed  Harry,  as  the  two  bulls 
disappeared  into  a  thicket  of  young  poplars 
and  birches,  "these  woods  are  just  alive  with 
game,  but  I  haven't  seen  any  calves  yet. 
Where  are  they?" 

"Most  of  them  are  still  kept  hidden  in  the 
thick  mossy  swamps,  but  I  think  we'll  see 
some  yet. 

"I  think  I  see  one  now!  Do  you  see  that 
cow  about  a  mile  ahead?  There's  some  small 
brown  animal  with  her.  That 's  her  calf. ' ' 

Very  carefully  they  worked  up  to  them  un 
til  they  could  plainly  see  every  movement  of 


82  THE  SILVEE  ISLAND 

the  animals.  The  big  cow  splashed  in  the 
water  with  her  forefeet,  while  her  little  calf 
seemed  to  be  afraid  to  go  in.  Now  it  was  on 
this  side,  now  on  that  side  of  its  mother  who 
gradually  coaxed  it  in  a  little  farther. 

Closer  and  closer  the  canoe  approached, 
and  both  cow  and  calf  stood  looking  at  it. 

"There,  Harry!"  said  Dan;  " there's  your 
chance  for  a  shot ! ' ' 

"I  don't  want  to  shoot  it,"  Harry  an 
swered.  "Let's  see  how  close  we  can  get  to 
it." 

"All  right;  but  be  careful.  There's  no 
fooling  with  a  moose  cow  if  she  thinks  her 
calf  is  in  danger. ' ' 

"Ah,  shucks,"  retorted  Harry,  whose  cour 
age  with  moose  had  grown  fast  during  the 
forenoon;  "she  can't  hurt  us;  she's  got  no 
horns  anyway." 

Slowly  Dan  pushed  the  canoe  towards  the 
little  brown  calf.  With  glaring  eyes  and 
bristling  shoulder-mane  the  big  cow  stood 
watching  the  canoe.  Harry  did  not  look  at 
the  cow,  he  only  saw  the  little  brown  calf 


OF  THE  CHIPPEWA  83 

which  stood  gazing  at  the  boat  with  the  inno 
cent  curiosity  of  a  domestic  calf.  Now  they 
were  so  close  that  Harry  could  not  resist  the 
temptation  to  touch  the  staring  young  crea 
ture. 

The  touch  of  a  human  hand  seemed  sud 
denly  to  electrify  the  animal,  and  trembling 
with  instinctive  fear,  it  uttered  a  loud  bleat 
ing  bellow,  and  before  either  Dan  or  Harry 
had  time  to  think,  the  big  enraged  cow  was 
upon  them  in  defense  of  her  calf.  With  one 
of  her  forefeet  she  struck  the  canoe  a  savage 
blow,  right  in  the  middle,  driving  it  to  the 
bottom. 

"Out  for  the  lake!"  yelled  Dan,  and  with 
that  he  grabbed  Harry  by  his  shirt  collar  and 
pulled  him  into  deep  water  as  fast  as  he  could. 

' '  Swim  out !  She  '11  kill  you  if  she  strikes 
you ! ' ' 

The  enraged  moose  in  the  meantime,  by  lit 
erally  trampling  on  the  canoe,  cut  a  dozen 
gashing  holes  into  it  and  almost  broke  it  in 
two  in  the  middle. 

Waggles,  who  had  had  a  narrow  escape 


84  THE  SILVEK  ISLAND 

from  being  cut  in  two,  had  swum  ashore  in  a 
hurry,  and  had  begun  to  bark  savagely  at  the 
enraged  moose  as  soon  as  he  landed. 

This  distracted  the  attention  of  the  mad 
cow  from  the  bobbing  canoe,  and  she  rushed 
furiously  at  "Waggles  who  had  to  dodge  behind 
trees  and  stumps  on  shore  to  save  his  life. 
In  the  meantime  the  puzzled  brown  calf  had 
walked  ashore  and  Waggles  rushed  savagely 
at  its  heels.  Again  the  calf  uttered  its  ap 
peal  for  help,  and  so  quick  was  the  response 
of  the  cow  that  Waggles  received  a  sharp 
glancing  blow  on  his  back  and  was  knocked 
over  before  he  knew  that  the  big  moose  was 
there.  He  realized  that  he  was  too  small  to 
fight  a  mad  moose,  and  with  a  few  yelps  and 
barks  he  scurried  for  cover  under  the  roots 
of  a  fallen  tree,  from  which  safe  retreat  he 
bobbed  in  and  out  and  kept  up  a  savage  bark 
ing. 

But  the  moose  seemed  to  have  forgotten 
him.  Uttering  a  low  whining  sort  of  call,  she 
sniffed  at  the  calf  as  if  to  make  sure  that  it 
was  not  hurt,  and  at  the  same  time  she  started 


I 


"  SWIM  OUT!     SHE'LL  KILL  YOU  IF  SHE  STRIKES  YOU!  "  —  Page  83. 


OF  THE  CHIPPEWA  85 

walking  toward  the  woods  with  the  frightened 
calf  huddling  close  to  her  side. 

Dan  and  Harry  had  swum  back  to  the  boat 
when  the  moose  left  it. 

Dan  stood  speechless,  looking  at  the  canoe, 
and  by  the  time  he  recovered  from  his  sur 
prise,  the  moose  had  disappeared  into  the 
woods. 

"Well,  I'll  be  jiggered!"  he  exclaimed;  "if 
that  big  brute  didn't  make  kindling  of  the 
whole  boat!" 

Harry  didn't  say  a  word,  because  he  felt 
that  he  had  brought  on  the  whole  trouble  by 
touching  the  calf,  but  when  Dan  started  to 
pick  up  their  floating  packs  and  bring  the  gun 
and  other  things  up  from  the  bottom,  Harry 
began  to  carry  the  things  ashore  and  spread 
them  out  to  dry,  expecting  every  minute  a  big 
scolding  from  Dan.  But  Dan,  who  felt  even 
more  guilty  than  Harry,  sat  down  on  a  rock 
and  began  to  wring  the  water  out  of  his 
clothes. 

' '  Confound  that  fool  moose ! "  he  grumbled ; 
"who  would  have  thought  that  such  a  big 


86  THE  SILVER  ISLAND 

beast  could  move  so  quickly.  Now  we  '11  have 
to  stay  here  till  I  build  another  canoe.  You 
can  use  the  birch  bark  of  this  one  to  start 
your  camp  fires." 


CHAPTEE  X 

BUILDING  A  CANOE  AND  EXPLOKING  THE  WILDER' 

NESS 

DAN  lost  no  time  in  getting  at  Ms 
work,  because  he  realized  that  spring 
had  already  passed  and  midsummer 
had  arrived. 

The  progress  of  the  season  was  best  marked 
by  the  disappearance  of  certain  flowers  and 
the  appearance  of  others. 

The  yellowish-green  Clintonias  which  cov 
ered  the  forest  floor  everywhere  when  the 
boys  started  on  their  trip,  were  gone,  and 
showed  only  the  large  lily-like  leaves.  The 
white  carpets  of  dwarf  cornel  or  partridge 
berries,  which  were  spread  out  everywhere 
along  their  first  trail,  had  lost  their  pure  ala 
baster  and  had  begun  to  set  bunches  of  green 
berries.  The  beautiful  purple  Noah's  ark 

87 


88  THE  SILVEE  ISLAND 

and  the  large  gorgeous  pink  moccasins  were 
no  longer  conspicuous  in  damp  shady  swamps, 
and  most  of  the  fragrant  little  twin-flowers 
or  Linnaeas,  had  faded. 

In  wet,  mossy  bogs  the  curious  pitcher- 
plants  began  to  raise  their  dark-purple, 
drooping  heads,  each  flower  rising  on  a  long 
stalk  from  a  whorl  of  water-filled,  pitcher- 
shaped  leaves,  which  remained  half-hidden 
in  cushions  of  pale  spongy  moss. 

In  sunny  places  the  luscious  wild  strawber 
ries  lay,  dark  red  and  dead  ripe,  on  the 
ground,  and  even  the  raspberries  were  rapidly 
changing  from  green  to  red. 

The  small  trees  of  the  pin  cherry  or  bird 
cherry  were  loaded  with  glossy  crimson  fruit, 
while  shad-bushes  or  Juneberries  were  bent 
with  an  abundance  of  black  or  dark-blue  fruit, 
inviting  both  birds  and  bears  to  a  midsummer 
feast. 

Even  the  blueberries,  the  most  abundant 
fruit  of  the  North  woods,  began  in  places  to 
show  dark  among  the  low  green  vines.  While 
Dan  worked  hard  on  the  canoe,  Harry  had  no 


OF  THE  CHIPPEWA  89 

trouble  in  providing  an  abundance  of  deli 
cious  desserts  for  the  camp  table;  he  also 
caught  many  fine-flavored  black  bass,  trout 
and  pike  for  the  more  substantial  part  of  their 
meals.  If  the  brothers  had  not  been  bent  on 
serious  business,  nothing  could  have  been 
more  enjoyable  than  to  remain  in  this  delight 
ful  camp  all  summer  and  enjoy  the  bounty  of 
wild  nature. 

The  summer  was  one  of  those  rare  seasons 
when  every  wild  bush  and  vine  offers  a  bo 
nanza  crop  to  whosoever  will  harvest  and  eat. 
Bare  years  they  are  indeed,  and  generally 
they  follow  one  of  those  lean  years  when  the 
black  bear  cannot  find  pickings  for  a  mouth 
ful  of  blueberries,  where  in  a  normal  year  he 
filled  his  capacious  paunch  and  he  has  to  den 
up  with  only  a  thin  coat  of  fat  under  his  coat 
of  fur.  In  those  years  of  starvation  the  fail 
ure  of  wild  crops  may  be  so  complete  that  the 
gray  squirrel  stores  basswood  twigs  instead 
of  butternuts  and  black  walnuts,  and  the  little 
reds  and  the  chipmunks  go  into  winter-quar 
ters  short  on  hazel  nuts  and  acorns,  and  early 


90  THE  SILVEK  ISLAND 

in  spring  they  have  to  eat  the  buds  and  young 
shoots  of  the  oaks  instead  of  acorns. 

But  in  the  fat  years,  when  no  late  frost  kills 
the  blossoms  and  when  neither  too  much  rain 
nor  drought  injures  growth,  every  wild  plant 
from  the  secluded  dewberry  to  the  giant  oaks 
and  pines  is  loaded  with  some  kind  of  fruit 
or  seeds.  From  the  time  the  obscure  little 
snails  and  slugs  begin  to  sample  the  strawber 
ries,  until  the  bears  gorge  themselves  on  blue 
berries,  chokecherries  and  acorns,  and  the 
wild  ducks  dive  and  dabble  for  the  wild  rice, 
nature  sets  her  table  with  a  lavish  hand.  It 
was  in  one  of  these  fat  seasons  that  the  boys 
had  to  make  camp  on  Long  Lake. 

"Keep  at  it,  kid,"  Dan  encouraged  Harry. 
1  'Gather  all  the  berries  you  can  find  and  dry 
them  in  the  sun.  They  will  begin  to  taste 
mighty  good  about  the  first  of  September. 
The  wild  rice  marshes  look  mighty  fine  too, 
with  their  pollen-laden  tassels.  In  Septem 
ber,  we'll  add  a  sack  of  rice  to  our  stock. 
Wild  rice  and  dried  berries  will  go  mighty  well 
with  fish  and  game. ' ' 


OF  THE  CHIPPEWA  91 

"How  long  do  you  expect  to  be  on  this  trip, 
anyway,  Dan?" 

"Heaven  only  knows,  Harry.  If  we  don't 
get  along  faster  than  we  have  been  going,  we 
may  cruise  about  for  a  year.  Are  you  home 
sick  and  tired  of  it?" 

' '  Not  a  bit  of  it.  But  I  wish  we  could  send 
word  to  Father  and  Mother;  they'll  be  wor 
ried  about  us." 

"We'll  send  down  word  to  them  as  soon  as 
we  get  to  our  Chippewa  friend,  Amigoosheb, 
on  Pigeon  River.  I  want  to  see  him,  anyway. 
He  may  know  something  about  Silver  Island, 
because  he  and  Hamigeesek  were  always  close 
friends. 

"You  can  gather  berries  and  explore  the 
woods  while  I  work  on  the  canoe,  but  look  out 
you  don't  get  lost.  Take  the  pup  with  you; 
he'll  lead  you  back  to  camp." 


ON  his  excursions  around  the  lake 
Harry  made  many  interesting  dis 
coveries.  One  day  he  came  to  camp 
in  great  excitement. 

"Dan,"  he  said,  "I've  found  an  eagle's 
nest,  a  hundred  feet  up  in  a  big  pine;  it's  as 
big  as  our  tent.  Come  along,  I  want  to  see 
what's  in  it." 

"Why  didn't  you  climb  the  tree?" 

"I'm  afraid  to,  alone.  The  old  eagles  were 
sailing  around  it  and  screaming." 

"They  won't  hurt  you." 

"Oh,  yes.  You're  kidding  me  again.  You 
said  the  moose  wouldn't  fight  either.  I  don't 
believe  you  any  more. ' ' 

Dan  smiled  and  went  along. 

The  nest  was  a  big  structure  built  of  sticks 
as  big  as  a  boy's  arm. 

92 


THE  SILVER  ISLAND  93 

"You  can't  climb  that  pine,"  said  Dan; 
"it's  too  big  around,  and  there  is  nothing  to 
take  hold  of." 

"  I  'm  not  going  to.  I  'm  going  to  climb  that 
spruce  twenty  feet  away  and  then  take  a  peep 
across  to  the  nest.  Just  come  and  give  me  a 
boost." 

After  Harry  reached  the  branches  of  the 
spruce  he  went  up  quickly. 

"You  shoot  the  eagles  if  they  start  to  fight 
me, ' '  he  called,  as  the  big  birds  came  circling 
lower  and  lower,  uttering  their  long  shrill 
screams. 

At  last,  when  Harry  had  nearly  reached  the 
top  of  the  spruce,  one  of  the  great  birds  with 
a  dull  rush  of  its  wings,  spread  as  far  as  the 
arms  of  a  man,  circled  within  twenty  feet  of 
the  scared  boy.  But  just  as  Dan  was  going  to 
shoot,  the  big  bird  sailed  quietly  away  across 
the  lake,  and  she  and  her  mate  watched  the 
nest  from  a  tall  dead  pine. 

"Golly,"  cried  Harry,  "there  are  three 
young  in  it  as  big  as  hens;  they're  just  get 
ting  feathers!  It's  the  biggest  nest  I  ever 


94  THE  SILVER  ISLAND 

saw.  It's  almost  flat,  and  so  big  I  could  lie 
down  on  it ! 

"They've  got  a  big  fish  in  the  nest!  One 
of  them  is  going  to  eat  him.  No,  he  isn't 
either.  I  guess  he  isn't  hungry ! 

"Oh,  Dan,  you  ought  to  come  up  here! 
Gee,  I  can  see  a  hundred  lakes.  It's  great, 
Dan!  It's  the  greatest  thing  I  ever  saw. 
Away  back  where  we  came  from  and  a  way 
ahead  where  we  are  going  I  can  see  a  long 
string  of  lakes.  The  water  looks  just  like  sil 
ver.  ' ' 

On  the  way  back  to  camp,  the  inquisitive 
small  boy  asked  many  questions  about  eagles, 
and  Dan  told  him  what  he  knew. 

"These  are  bald  eagles,  as  shown  by  the 
white  heads  and  white  tails  of  the  old  birds. 
They  use  the  same  nest  for  many  years,  per 
haps  as  long  as  they  live,  maybe  fifty  years. 
They  live  mostly  on  fish  and  come  north  as 
soon  as  the  lakes  are  open  and  stay  here  un 
til  it  freezes  up.  If  a  storm  has  damaged 
their  nest  they  repair  it,  and  every  year  they 
add  some  more  sticks  to  it.  The  young  stay 


95 

about  two  months  in  the  nest,  and  never  re 
turn  to  the  country  where  they  were  raised. 
What  becomes  of  them  is  hard  to  tell.  I  guess 
most  of  them  get  killed  by  some  fool  gunners 
who  think  they  are  great  heroes  when  they 
can  shoot  a  silly  young  eagle.  Some  get 
caught  in  steel  traps.  I  know  of  a  trapper 
who  had  caught  a  fox,  and  an  eagle  swooped 
down  and  tore  the  fox  all  to  pieces." 

At  every  meal  the  boys  had  much  fun  with 
a  flock  of  whisky-jacks  or  Canada  jays.  As 
soon  as  Harry's  camp-fire  began  to  smoke  the 
jays  appeared  and  waited  anxiously  for  bits 
of  meat  and  fish  to  be  thrown  to  them.  In 
spite  of  Dan's  warning,  Harry  conceived  and 
carried  out  an  original  plan  of  taming  them 
which  worked  even  better  than  he  had  in 
tended.  He  pegged  down  a  piece  of  venison 
about  ten  feet  from  the  camp-fire,  and  the  jays 
came  to  it  at  once.  When  they  tried  in  vain 
to  fly  off  with  the  piece,  they  took  a  few  hasty 
bites  out  of  it  and  left.  Then  Harry  went  and 
moved  the  piece  a  little  nearer  to  the  camp- 
fire.  After  he  had  repeated  this  maneuver 


96  THE  SILVER  ISLAND 

several  times,  the  jays  grew  so  bold  that  they 
took  the  food  out  of  the  boy's  hands,  and  fre 
quently  when  the  fire  was  low  or  Harry  was 
not  looking,  the  jays  stole  the  meat  out  of  the 
frying-pan.  If  Harry  left  any  venison  ex 
posed  they  pecked  at  it  or  carried  it  away; 
even  in  the  tent  they  examined  everything  and 
acted  in  every  respect  as  if  the  whole  camp 
belonged  to  them. 

1  i These  jays,"  observed  Dan,  "in  their  gray 
coats  and  whitish  hoods,  remind  me  of  holy 
old  monks,  but  they  have  Old  Nick  in  them. 
You  can  tame  some  more  at  our  next  camp, 
Harry. " 

"They're  surely  pesky  fresh,"  Harry  ad 
mitted,  "but  I  don't  care.  I  wish  some  more 
birds  were  as  tame  as  these  whisky-jacks. 

"Why 're  they  called  whisky-jacks,  Dan?" 

"It's  a  corruption  from  Chippewa,  I  guess. 
They  have  a  bunch  of  other  names  like,  moose 
bird,  meat  bird,  camp  thief  and  lumber-jack. 

"They  are  queer  birds  all  right.  Instead 
of  nesting  in  summer  they  build  their  nests 
in  the  evergreens  when  the  woods  are  still 


OF  THE  CHIPPEWA  97 

full  of  snow  and  when  the  weather  often  falls 
below  zero." 

While  Harry  had  a  fine  time  sleeping  as 
long  as  he  liked,  and  exploring  the  woods  in 
company  with  Waggles,  Dan's  mind  was  not 
so  free  from  care.  He  often  wondered  if  it 
had  really  been  Le  Noir  who  had  been  follow 
ing  them  and  how  much  he  knew  of  their  plans 
and  just  what  his  design  might  be.  In  order 
to  throw  the  probable  spy  entirely  off  the 
track,  Dan  decided  not  to  hurry  building  the 
canoe.  He  worked  in  a  place  where  he  had 
a  clear  view  of  the  lake,  but  where  he  could 
not  be  easily  observed  from  the  lake. 

Sometimes,  when  Harry  and  Waggles  had 
gone  on  a  trip  and  Dan  was  working  away  by 
himself,  a  feeling  of  despair  overcame  him. 
"Of  all  places  in  the  world  to  find  a  certain 
small  island  this  country  of  a  thousand  lakes 
and  as  many  islands  is  certainly  the  worst 
that  could  be  imagined,"  he  thought. 

The  question  of  the  route  they  were  to  take 
to  Lake  Superior  he  also  often  debated  in  his 
mind.  Should  they  take  the  easy  passage 


98 

down  the  Brule  Eiver,  or  should  they  portage 
over  the  divide  into  the  Pigeon  River.  On 
the  Pigeon  River  route  they  would  have  to 
make  a  long  and  hard  portage  of  eight  miles 
past  the  rapids  and  the  great  falls  of  the 
Pigeon. 

He  decided  in  favor  of  the  Pigeon  River 
route  so  he  could  have  a  talk  with  Ami- 
goosheb  about  the  location  of  Silver  Island. 

"With  the  information  we  have  now,"  he 
said  to  himself,  "we  are  just  about  going  it 
blind." 

But  when  Waggles  and  Harry  returned  to 
camp  all  gloom  was  dispelled. 

As  for  Waggles,  he  lived  in  a  real  dog  para 
dise.  For  hours  at  a  time  he  would  sit  bark 
ing  and  whining  at  a  red  squirrel,  high  up  in 
a  tree.  At  other  times  he  chased  rabbits  or 
dug  for  mice  until  his  face  and  ears  were  cov 
ered  with  dirt  and  his  nose  was  stuffed  up 
with  the  dark  brown  humus.  He  never 
caught  anything  bigger  than  mice,  but  he 
hunted  with  such  optimistic  enthusiasm  as  if 
to  say  to  the  boys:  "You  can  laugh  at  me 


OF  THE  CHIPPEWA  99 

all  you  want  to,  some  day  I  will  catch  some 
thing  big." 

When  he  did  not  happen  to  be  hunting  some 
thing,  Dan  or  Harry  had  to  throw  sticks  for 
him,  which  he  retrieved  and  shook  and  threw 
about  with  angry  growls  as  if  they  were  rats. 

And  even  when  he  lay  flat  on  his  side,  asleep 
on  the  soft  moss,  he  furnished  no  little  amuse 
ment  for  the  boys,  for  at  those  times  he  often 
lived  over  the  events  of  the  day  in  his  dreams. 
He  wiggled  his  feet,  wrinkled  his  face  and 
barked  through  his  nose  until  the  laughter  or 
talk  of  the  boys  woke  him  up. 

At  the  end  of  a  week  Dan  had  his  canoe  fin 
ished  and  had  also  smoked  the  meat  of  an 
other  small  buck. 

Harry  had  kept  his  promise  of  making  him 
self  useful.  He  had  gathered  a  peck  each  of 
raspberries  and  Juneberries,  and  had  also 
smoked  a  dozen  fine  black  bass  and  wall-eyed 
pike,  and  once  more  the  boys  and  Waggles 
continued  along  that  most  wonderful  chain  of 
lakes  which  forms  the  international  boundary 
between  Minnesota  and  Ontario. 


CHAPTER  XII 

CAUGHT    IN    A   FOREST    FIRE 

THE  route  of  the  canoeists  now  became 
much  more  difficult.  The  string  of 
small  and  somewhat  narrow  lakes 
along  which  they  traveled  are  connected  by 
wild  rapids  and  falls,  sending  their  waters  to 
ward  Lake  of  the  Woods. 

Around  these  rapids  and  falls  the  canoe  and 
the  packs  had  to  be  carried  and  as  Harry  was 
not  strong  enough  to  carry  a  heavy  load  they 
had  to  make  two  trips  past  every  rapid,  and 
their  progress  was  rather  slow. 

As  they  traveled  they  kept  a  sharp  lookout 
for  islets  that  might  answer  the  description 
of  the  one  Hamigeesek  had  discovered.  Some 
answered  the  description  fairly  well,  but  not 
one  showed,  as  far  as  the  boys  could  see,  any 
traces  of  precious  metal. 

Twice  they  saw  parties  of  Indians  return- 
100 


THE  SILVER  ISLAND  101 

ing  from  the  trading-post  at  Grand  Portage, 
but  the  Indians  did  not  discover  them,  and  of 
white  men  they  saw  no  indication,  although 
they  kept  a  sharp  lookout  for  them  and  ob 
served  about  their  own  camping  places  the 
same  secrecy  they  had  adopted  at  the  begin 
ning  of  their  journey. 

The  season  had  turned  very  dry,  which  had 
the  good  result  that  the  boys  were  not  trou 
bled  by  mosquitoes. 

"We  struck  it  mighty  fine,"  observed  Dan. 
"The  last  time  I  was  out  here  it  rained  nearly 
every  other  day,  so  that  every  little  hollow 
was  full  of  stagnant  water  and  the  mosquitoes 
were  so  thick  that  it  was  impossible  to  sit 
around  the  camp-fire  for  half  an  hour.  I  had 
to  crawl  into  the  tent  as  soon  as  I  had  eaten 
my  supper  and  close  the  tent  mosquito-tight. 
Every  time  I  was  awake  I  could  hear  the  mos 
quitoes  singing  outside,  trying  to  get  in.  If 
I  left  a  little  hole  anywhere  the  tent  was  full 
of  them  inside  of  half  an  hour." 

On  account  of  the  drought  the  boys  had  to 
be  exceedingly  careful  with  their  camp-fires. 


102  THE  SILVER  ISLAND 

If  possible,  they  built  them  on  the  sand  or  in 
a  wet  place.  If  that  could  not  be  done,  they 
scraped  away  the  dry  humus  as  much  as  pos 
sible,  and  when  they  left  the  camp  poured 
plenty  of  water  on  the  fire  to  make  sure  that 
it  would  not  start  again  and  spread  into  the 
woods. 

As  the  days  passed,  one  much  like  the  other, 
the  brothers  began  to  have  a  feeling  that  they 
had  been  on  this  journey  for  a  long,  long  time, 
because  much  of  the  life  in  the  forest  had 
changed  since  they  started.  The  birds  were 
entirely  silent,  in  fact  it  sometimes  seemed 
as  if  they  all  had  deserted  the  woods.  Over 
head  they  frequently  saw  a  number  of  fish- 
hawks  sailing  at  a  great  height  above  the 
water,  and  occasionally  they  saw  one  with 
folded  wings  shoot  into  the  lake  and  rise  with 
a  wriggling  fish  in  his  talons.  They  passed 
several  of  the  large  nests  of  the  fish-hawks, 
placed  conspicuously  on  tall,  dead  trees  not 
far  from  the  water,  but  the  nests  were  de 
serted,  as  the  young  birds  were  already  on 
the  wing,  learning  to  catch  fish  as  instinct  and 


OF  THE  CHIPPEWA  103 

the  example  of  their  parents  taught  them. 

When  the  boys  started  with  their  new  canoe, 
a  dreamy  blue  haze  seemed  to  hang  over  the 
lake.  From  day  to  day  this  haze  thickened 
until  at  the  end  of  a  week  the  air  was  filled 
with  the  pungent  odor  of  smoke. 

"I  shouldn't  be  surprised,"  said  Dan,  "if 
we'd  run  into  a  forest  fire.  I  haven't  seen 
such  a  dry  season  for  a  long  time. ' ' 

"I  don't  see  how  a  forest  fire  could  get 
started,  Dan,  if  everybody  is  careful  with  his 
camp-fire. ' ' 

"The  trouble  is  they  aren't.  A  fire  may 
smolder  in  the  muck  or  peat  for  weeks  or  even 
for  months,  and  when  the  season  gets  very  dry 
and  a  heavy  wind  springs  up  the  dry  and  hot 
air  will  fan  the  smoldering  peat  into  a  blaze 
and  you  have  the  beginning  of  a  forest  fire 
which  nothing  but  a  big  lake  or  a  heavy  rain 
can  stop." 

The  haze  and  smoke  thickened  from  day  to 
day  until  it  lay  over  the  lakes  like  fog  and 
made  traveling  difficult  because  the  boys  could 
only  see  a  short  ways  ahead,  while  the  view 


104  THE  SILVER  ISLAND 

of  shores  and  lakes  was  completely  shut  off. 
After  they  had  slowly  picked  their  way  for 
several  days  through  this  oppressive  haze  of 
smoke  they  camped  for  Sunday  on  a  small 
island.  Both  climbed  a  tall  tree  to  see  if  they 
could  discover  any  fire  close  by.  But  they 
could  see  little  more  from  the  tree  tops ;  the 
whole  world  just  seemed  to  be  wrapped  up  in 
a  blanket  of  dense,  pungent  smoke. 

During  the  night  conditions  did  not  change 
much,  however,  in  the  morning  the  boys 
thought  the  smoke  was  less  dense.  But  Dan 
told  Harry  that  forest  fires  always  sort  of 
went  down  at  night  because  the  air  was  cool 
and  damp,  and  that  they  burned  most  furi 
ously  during  the  hot  and  windy  hours  of  noon. 

As  the  day  grew  warmer  the  thickness  of 
the  smoke  increased  again,  and  towards  noon 
it  became  almost  suffocating. 

" Can't  we  get  away  from  here?"  Harry 
asked.  *  *  I  'm  almost  choking. ' ' 

' '  No,  we  can 't, ' '  replied  Dan.  ' '  I  'm  afraid 
if  we  moved  now  we  might  literally  run  from 
the  frying-pan  into  the  fire.  If  the  wind  does 


OF  THE  CHIPPEWA  105 

not  grow  heavier  the  fire  is  not  likely  to  jump 
the  channel  and  get  on  this  island." 

But  in  the  early  hours  of  the  afternoon  the 
wind  did  increase  with  the  heat  of  the  day 
and  the  approach  of  the  fire.  At  last  a  loud 
roaring  crackle  could  be  heard  across  the 
channel.  A  lurid  glare  lighted  up  the  roll 
ing,  dark  clouds  of  smoke,  and  pieces  of  burn 
ing,  dead  twigs  and  sticks  were  driven  before 
the  wind  like  great  sparks,  while  great  masses 
of  flame  shot  out  from  the  tree  tops  and  were 
lashed  by  the  storm  half-way  across  the  chan 
nel. 

' '  Great  heavens ! ' '  exclaimed  Dan.  ' '  Don 't 
lose  me  now,  Harry.  The  blaze  will  be  on  us 
in  a  minute.  Grab  everything  you  can  and 
carry  it  out  on  the  sand  point. ' ' 

Dan  first  ran  with  the  canoe  out  to  the  long 
sandy  point  under  the  lee  of  the  island.  Then 
he  pulled  up  the  tent  in  a  hurry,  grabbed  the 
gun  and  the  blankets  and  carried  them  out  to 
the  canoe.  In  the  meantime  Harry  had  car 
ried  their  meat  and  other  eatables  to  the  same 
spot.  The  deafening  roar  and  crackle  came 


106  THE  SILVER  ISLAND 

nearer  and  nearer,  and  as  tliey  ran  with  their 
last  load  to  the  canoe,  the  whole  island  was  in 
a  blaze  and  burning  sparks,  small  burning 
brush  and  twigs  were  falling  all  around  them 
and  the  smoke  almost  stifled  the  boys  as  they 
stumbled  along  in  the  scorching  heat. 

"Are  we  going  to  burn  up  ? "  gasped  Harry, 
badly  frightened. 

But  Dan  either  did  not  hear  him  or  had  no 
time  to  answer.  He  tipped  the  canoe  on  its 
side,  soaked  the  tent  and  the  blankets  in  the 
lake,  and  hurriedly  threw  them  over  the  canoe. 

"Now  get  under  there,"  he  said,  as  he 
grabbed  Harry  by  his  shirt  cloth,  "and  get 
down  flat.  This  ought  to  keep  us  alive." 

For  half  an  hour  the  fire  roared  and 
crackled  in  the  tall  pines,  spruces  and  balsams 
of  the  island,  and  the  boys  had  to  keep  their 
faces  close  to  the  ground  so  as  not  to  be  suf 
focated  by  the  dense  volume  of  smoke  which 
came  not  only  from  the  island  but  from  the 
burning  and  burnt  country  behind.  The  fire 
had  not  been  merely  a  light  running  ground 
fire,  which  kills  the  undergrowth  and  burns 


OF  THE  CHIPPEWA  107 

the  needles  around  the  thick-barked  trunks  of 
the  big  old  pines,  but  it  had  grown  into  a  de 
structive  crown  fire,  which  leaves  the  green 
forest  a  black  waste  of  desolation. 

The  night  following  proved  to  be  the  most 
miserable  the  boys  had  yet  spent  on  their 
whole  trip.  They  could  not  go  back  to  the 
island  because  dead  trunks  and  stumps  and 
the  thick  layers  of  humus  were  still  burning 
and  smoldering.  As  the  August  night  grew 
cold,  the  fury  of  the  fire  had  spent  itself  and 
the  smoke  grew  less  oppressive.  Although 
there  was  fire  and  smoke  all  around  them,  it 
was  with  difficulty  that  the  shivering  boys  got 
a  camp-fire  started  on  the  edge  of  the  water 
with  pieces  of  wood  they  had  picked  up  in  the 
darkness  along  the  shore.  Then  they  wrung 
out  their  wet  blankets  as  well  as  they  could, 
rolled  themselves  up  in  front  of  the  fire,  and 
got  what  rest  and  sleep  they  could  after  the 
excitement  of  the  day. 

The  delay  caused  by  the  forest  fire  made 
the  boys  still  more  eager  to  travel  as  fast  as 
possible. 


108  THE  SILVER  ISLAND 

Of  Le  Noir  they  had  discovered  no  sign,  and 
they  felt  sure  that  he  had  taken  the  North 
Channel  around  Hunter's  Island.  Might  he 
not  intend  to  see  old  Amigoosheb  and  get  more 
information  about  Silver  Island?  Dan  knew 
that  he  was  well  acquainted  with  the  old  In 
dian. 

"Kid,"  he  said  to  Harry,  "let's  go  as  fast 
as  we  can.  I  am  afraid  the  rogue  may  beat  us 
to  the  Pigeon  River  and  steal  the  information 
we  must  have.  He's  sly  enough  to  do  it  if 
he  gets  half  a  chance." 


CHAPTER  XIII 

IN   THE   CHIPPEWA   TEPEE 

AFTEE  their  escape  from  the  forest 
fire  the  boys  allowed  themselves  no 
rest   except   on    Sundays.    Bnt    so 
great  is  the  number  of  lakes  and  bays  which 
they  felt  they  had  to  explore  on  the  route, 
that  the  yellowing  of  ash  and  birch  and  the 
waning  of  the  days  told  that  summer  had 
gone,  when  at  last  they  reached  the  tepee  of 
Amigoosheb,  near  the  head  of  the  long  port 
age  of  the  Pigeon  Eiver. 

It  was  late  on  a  cold  and  rainy  afternoon 
when  Dan  looked  into  the  tepee  of  his  Indian 
friend,  who  was  sitting  inside  of  his  lodge, 
resting  after  an  all-day  hunting  trip,  while 
Anego,  his  wife,  was  preparing  a  feast  for 
the  family.  Amigoosheb,  when  he  saw  the 
two  whites,  arose  from  his  seat,  shook  the 
hands  of  his  visitors  and  bade  them  to  be 

109 


110  THE  SILVEE  ISLAND 

seated  on  a  bearskin  behind  the  fire  opposite 
the  tepee  entrance  which  is  considered  the 
seat  of  honor  in  a  Chippewa  lodge. 

"You  are  welcome,"  he  said.  "I  have 
killed  a  fat  deer  and  the  meat  will  soon  be 
ready  for  a  feast." 

Harry  was  surprised  to  see  that  Amigoo- 
sheb  was  half  a  head  taller  than  his  big 
brother,  but  he  liked  the  kindly  face  of  the  big 
red  hunter  and  felt  at  once  at  home  in  the 
warm,  cozy  tepee. 

Anego  did  not  speak  to  the  boys,  but  handed 
each  of  the  lads  a  pair  of  dry  and  soft  moose- 
hide  moccasins,  and  the  boys  were  glad  to 
take  off  their  wet  and  heavy  boots. 

''It's  mighty  good  to  see  some  people 
again,"  Harry  remarked  as  he  tied  his  moc 
casins.  "It  seems  to  me  we  have  camped  and 
traveled  alone  for  a  year." 

Having  divested  themselves  of  their  wet 
boots  and  coats,  the  boys  enjoyed  the  comfort 
of  the  red  man's  wigwam.  The  rain  had  in 
creased  from  a  drizzle  to  one  of  those  steady 
downpours  which  it  seemed  would  soak  every 


'You  ARK  WELCOME." — Page  110. 


OF  THE  CIIIPPEWA  111 

leaf,  sprig  and  root  in  the  North  woods.  But 
the  shower  of  rain  which  came  through  the 
smoke-hole  of  the  roof  had  no  visible  effect  on 
the  bright  and  cheerful  fire  in  Amigoosheb's 
lodge,  because  Anego  was  a  good  house 
wife  and  had  provided  plenty  of  dry  wood 
which  did  not  sizzle  and  smoke  like  the  wood 
of  a  lazy  and  shiftless  squaw.  In  fact,  as  the 
countless  little  drops  and  currents,  like  a 
myriad  of  invisible  spirit  fingers,  played  their 
soft  murmuring  music  on  the  birch-bark  roof 
of  the  tepee,  the  fire  seemed  to  grow  brighter 
and  more  cheerful.  The  kettle  of  venison 
boiled  lustily  and  Harry  wondered  why  white 
men  did  not  live  in  tepees  where  there  was 
none  of  the  bustle  of  the  cross  and  overworked 
mother  from  which  he  had  sometimes  fled  in 
Detroit. 

Their  host  sat  in  silence  and  seemed  ab 
sorbed  in  thought,  while  Dan  told  of  their 
trip,  about  which  Amigoosheb  seemed  to  show 
no  curiosity,  for  he  only  uttered  occasional 
grunts  and  brief  remarks,  and  Harry  remem 
bered  that  it  is  contrary  to  Indian  etiquette 


112  THE  SILVER  ISLAND 

to  ask  guests  any  questions  about  their  busi 
ness. 

When  the  meat  was  done,  Amigoosheb 
placed  a  chunk  of  it  in  the  bowl  of  each  one 
present  and  then  poured  a  quantity  of  broth 
over  it.  The  boys  used  their  own  tin  bowls, 
knives,  forks  and  spoons,  but  their  Chippewa 
hosts  held  the  meat  in  their  fingers  and  drank 
the  broth. 

The  meal  over,  Waggles  and  the  two  mon 
grel  dogs  of  the  Indians  received  the  bones 
which  they  ate  outside  the  tepee.  Amigoo 
sheb  and  his  son  resumed  their  seats  and  en 
tertained  their  guests,  and  now  asked  the 
news  about  the  parents  of  the  boys  and  about 
the  Indians  and  half-breeds  they  knew  at  Fort 
Frances,  while  Anego  and  her  two  young 
girls  were  busy  putting  the  tepee  in  shape  for 
the  night. 

Some  hours  after  the  darkness  of  a  rainy 
night  had  settled  over  the  forest,  the  Indians, 
as  is  their  custom,  pulled  their  blankets  over 
their  heads  and  lay  down  to  sleep.  Harry 
and  Dan  covered  themselves  with  their  own 


OF  THE  CHIPPEWA  113 

blankets  and  stretched  out  on  a  bear-skin 
rug. 

"It's  bully  to  be  a  real  Indian,"  thought 
Harry,  as  he  listened  to  the  soft  patter  of 
the  rain  and  heard  the  weird  call  of  two  loons 
as  they  passed  over  the  tent,  and  then  he  fell 
into  forgetfulness  as  complete  as  that  of  Wag 
gles  who  lay  coiled  up  near  the  softly  glow 
ing  fire. 

Although  Dan  knew  well  the  inbred  aver 
sion  of  an  Indian  to  do  anything  in  a  hurry, 
he  himself  was  so  impatient  to  be  off  in  search 
of  the  object  of  their  journey  that  he  could 
not  spend  much  time  in  a  leisurely  visit  with 
the  family  of  Amigoosheb,  but  on  the  follow 
ing  day  told  his  host  of  the  purpose  of  his 
and  Harry's  visit. 

Amigoosheb  was  much  interested  in  the 
story  Dan  had  to  tell  and  he  and  his  wife  sin 
cerely  mourned  the  death  of  Hamigeesek  and 
Sellsby. 

"They  were  both  good  and  brave  men,"  he 
said.  "Long  ago,  Hamigeesek  went  on  the 
war-path  against  the  Sioux  and  brought  home 


114  THE  SILVER  ISLAND 

three  scalps,  but  when  he  became  a  Christian 
he  buried  the  scalps.  He  never  drank  fire 
water  and  once  when  I  was  sick  and  starving, 
he  traveled  three  days  on  snowshoes  and 
brought  me  moose  meat  and  tea  and  I  got 
well  and  strong  again. 

"I  saw  the  white  metal  Hamigeesek  found. 
He  brought  it  from  a  little  island  in  the  great 
Lake  Gitchegumee,  under  the  breast  of  a  sit 
ting  crane." 

"Under  the  breast  of  a  sitting  crane?" 
Dan  ventured  to  ask.  "What  did  he  mean 
by  that?" 

"He  did  not  say,"  Amigoosheb  continued 
after  a  brief  silence.  ' l  Perhaps  he  meant  an 
other  island  or  a  long  back  of  rock.  There 
are  as  many  of  those  on  the  shore  of  the  great 
lake  and  on  the  island  of  Minong  as  there 
are  moose  and  deer  in  the  forest.  But  I  do 
not  know ;  I  did  not  ask  him. ' ' 

"Had  Hamigeesek  been  to  the  Isle  of  Mi 
nong,  Isle  Eoyale,  as  we  call  it?"  Dan  fol 
lowed  up  eagerly. 

"Yes,  he  had  been  there.    He  told  of  the 


OF  THE  CHIPPEWA  115 

thick  brush  that  covers  the  island  and  of  the 
gulls,  the  ravens,  and  eagles  that  live  there. 
No  white  men  live  there,  and  few  Indians 
ever  visit  the  island  because  they  are  afraid 
of  the  storms  and  fogs  and  of  the  great  waves 
on  the  big  lake." 

"My  little  brother  and  I  must  go  there, 
Amigoosheb.  We  must  find  the  little  island. 
Will  you  help  us  to  carry  our  packs  and  our 
canoe  over  the  long  portage?  We  need  a 
friend  now,  for  the  back  of  my  little  brother 
is  not  strong  enough  for  a  great  burden  " 


CHAPTEE  XIV 

AN    UNWELCOME    VISITOR 

AMIGOOSHEB  promised  to  carry 
their  canoe  over  the  long  trail. 
" To-morrow,"  lie  said,  "when  the 
sun  goes  down,  you  shall  see  the  shining 
waters  of  Gitchegumee,  the  Big  Lake." 

Dan  was  jubilant  and  Harry  danced  with 
joy  and  could  hardly  keep  from  shouting 
when  Dan  told  him  that  they  were  to  camp  in 
sight  of  the  great  Lake  Superior  the  next 
night. 

But  that  evening  as  the  boys  and  their 
hosts  were  seated  around  the  fire  in  the  tepee 
waiting  for  supper,  something  happened 
Wilich  changed  their  whole  plan. 

Waggles,  who  apparently  lay  asleep  near 
the  fire,  raised  his  head  and  listened  to  some 
noise.  His  nostrils  quivered  for  a  second 
or  two,  and  then  he  bolted  out  of  the  lodge 

116 


THE  SILVER  ISLAND  117 

with  his  hair  bristling  and  uttering  an  angry 
growl.  The  two  Indian  dogs  rushed  after 
him  and  then  there  was  a  commotion  of  three 
dogs  barking  and  snarling  as  if  they  were 
having  a  fight  with  a  bear. 

The  two  white  boys  sprang  out  of  the  tepee 
while  their  Indian  hosts  followed  more  leis 
urely.  And  there  stood  Le  Noir,  shouting 
and  kicking  at  the  dogs  who  sprang  at  him 
viciously  again  and  again  as  if  he  were  a  wild 
beast  which  they  would  tear  to  pieces.  Wag 
gles  was  so  furious  that  he  did  not  heed  Dan's 
and  Harry's  calls  until  Harry  grabbed  him 
by  the  neck  and  tore  him  away. 

''You  keep  some  savage  brutes  in  your 
tepee,  Amigoosheb,"  remarked  Le  Noir,  when 
at  last  the  dogs  had  been  quieted. 

"It's  the  little  tail-wagger  of  my  friend 
that  started  it, ' '  replied  Amigoosheb  quietly. 
"He  heard  and  smelled  you  first.  My  dogs 
are  friendly  with  nearly  all  visitors." 

Amigoosheb  and  Dan  spoke  very  little,  as 
hosts  and  guests  sat  around  the  fire  in  the 
tepee,  but  Le  Noir  was  talkative.  He  ex- 


118  THE  SILVER  ISLAND 

pressed  surprise  at  meeting  Dan  and  Harry 
and  said  he  had  not  heard  that  they  had  left 
Fort  Frances  to  visit  Amisgoosheb. 

He  told  how  he  had  started  from  Fort 
Frances  less  than  a  week  ago  and  had  made  a 
quick  trip  of  it  through  the  North  Channel 
around  Hunter's  Island.  He  was  looking,  he 
said,  for  a  good  country  to  trap  beaver,  a 
country  not  so  much  overrun  by  trappers  as 
the  region  around  Fort  Frances.  He  had 
heard  that  beaver  were  numerous  north  of  the 
Pigeon  Eiver  and  he  was  on  his  way  to  ex 
plore  this  region,  and  if  he  found  it  good  he 
meant  to  trap  there  all  winter.  But  as  he 
knew  that  his  friend  Amigoosheb  generally 
made  his  summer  camp  at  this  place,  he  had 
wished  to  visit  him  for  a  few  days. 

Amigoosheb  thought  beaver  ought  to  be 
plentiful  up  north  because  the  Indians  had 
not  trapped  much  in  that  country  during  the 
last  few  years  on  account  of  the  low  prices 
the  traders  had  been  offering  for  beaver 
skins. 

As  soon  as  Dan  could  see  Amigoosheb  alone 


OF  THE  CHIPPEWA  119 

next  day,  he  told  him  what  he  suspected  to  be 
the  real  cause  for  the  appearance  of  Le  Noir, 
and  that  he  had  previously  seen  Waggles  act 
just  as  he  did  last  night  to  Le  Noir,  only  Le 
Noir  was  able  to  get  away  without  being 
discovered. 

'  *  I  am  convinced, ' '  continued  Dan, '  *  that  he 
has  been  following  us  and  intends  to  follow 
us  on  our  whole  trip.  We  put  him  on  the 
wrong  trail  at  Hunter's  Island,  but  now  he's 
found  us  again  and  we'll  have  a  hard  time 
to  lose  him. 

"If  we  find  the  island  he  will  claim  a  share 
of  it." 

For  a  minute  Amigoosheb  smoked  in  si 
lence.  Then  with  a  peculiar  gleam  in  his 
dark  eyes,  he  began  in  Chippewa :  ' 'Le  Noir 
is  a  bad  man ;  he  is  not  my  friend.  He  will 
not  claim  a  share  of  the  white  silver ;  he  will 
want  it  all.  If  he  is  there  when  you  see  the 
shine  of  the  sun  on  the  white  metal,  he  will 
murder  you  if  he  can.  Then  he  will  sink  your 
dead  body  in  the  deep  lake  which  never  gives 
up  its  dead,  and  you  and  your  little  brother 


120  THE  SILVER  ISLAND 

and  the  tail-wagging  dog  and  your  canoe  will 
never  be  seen  again."  And  once  more  he 
smoked  in  silence,  while  only  his  eyes,  which 
seemed  to  be  piercing  something  at  a  distance, 
showed  that  some  strong  feeling  was  working 
within  him. 

"Never  trust  him,"  he  resumed  after  a 
while,  l '  and  do  not  spare  him  if  you  ever  get 
your  right  hand  on  his  throat ;  an  evil  spirit 
dwells  within  him.  But  I  fear  him  not,  be 
cause  I  can  read  his  black  thoughts,  and  if 
you  will  follow  my  plan,  I  think  we  can  send 
him  north  where  his  false  tongue  said  his 
feet  intended  to  go. 

"But  we  must  not  hurry;  we  must  be  pa 
tient.  If  we  are  impatient  he  will  read  our 
thoughts  and  will  follow  you  to  the  Isle  of 
Minong. ' ' 


CHAPTER  XV 

CUNNING  AGAINST   CUNNING 

FOB  several  days  the  native  cunning  of 
Amigoosheb  fought  a  silent  battle 
with  the  shrewdness  of  the  half- 
breed;  although  apparently  Amigoosheb 
thought  only  of  entertaining  his  guests  after 
the  manner  of  his  red  fathers.  As  there  was 
plenty  of  game  and  fish  in  camp,  both  guests 
and  hosts  made  a  feast  every  day — Indians 
have  no  regular  time  for  meals — and  spent 
much  time  in  smoking  and  telling  stories. 
Amigoosheb  knew  wonderful  tales  of  hunt 
ing  the  big  moose,  the  fierce  timber  wolves, 
and  the  hated  wolverine;  he  was  also  well 
versed  in  the  traditions  and  legends  of  the 
Chippewa  nation.  Le  Noir  had  taken  part  in 
the  fights  and  intrigues  of  the  rival  fur  com 
panies,  and  Dan  could  talk  by  the  hour  about 

Detroit  and  Boston. 

121 


122  THE  SILVER  ISLAND 

Harry  drank  it  all  in  and  wished  that  he 
and  Dan  and  Waggles  might  have  some  real 
narrow  escapes  on  this  trip. 

"As  long  as  all  three  of  us  just  get  out 
alive,  it's  all  bully  fine,"  he  thought. 

Twice  Amigoosheb  took  his  guests  to  a  fine 
stream,  where  the  speckled  trout  were  so  nu 
merous  and  so  hungry  that  they  bit  wildly 
on  small  pieces  of  red  flannel.  Amigoosheb 
did  not  fish,  for  fishing,  according  to  his  idea, 
was  work  for  women,  small  boys  and  white 
men,  but  not  for  a  dignified  Chippewa 
brave. 

It  was  on  one  of  these  fishing  trips  that 
the  wily  Indian  managed  to  be  alone  with 
Dan  without  arousing  the  suspicion  of  Le 
Noir,  and  unfolded  to  him  a  plan  of  outwitting 
the  half-breed. 

1 1  To-morrow  or  next  day,  I  must  go  moose 
hunting,"  he  proceeded.  "We  need  meat, 
and  Anego  needs  moose  hide  for  moccasins. 
It's  a  long  trail,  too  long  for  your  little 
brother.  You  stay  here  and  hunt  deer  close 
by.  My  boy,  Magwah,  goes  with  you. 


OF  THE  CHIPPEWA  123 

"Le  Noir  goes  with  me.  We  find  moose, 
I  make  the  moose  a  little  wild.  I  tell  Le  Noir 
he  can't  get  him.  Le  Noir  thinks  he  is  a  great 
hunter  and  wants  to  get  the  big  moose.  We 
follow  him  and  get  lost.  We  travel  around 
and  find  many  beavers  and  stay  away  six  or 
seven  sleeps. 

"My  boy,  Magwah,  is  big  and  strong.  He 
will  help  you  carry  the  canoe  over  the  long 
portage,  and  you  paddle  away  to  the  great 
island  of  Minong  and  find  the  Island  of  the 
White  Metal  and  I  pray  that  the  Great  Mani- 
tou  will  guide  your  paddles  and  make  your 
eyes  keen. 

"I  have  spoken.  What  does  the  son  of  my 
friend  think  of  Amigoosheb's  plan?" 

"It  is  a  good  plan,"  Dan  assented  warmly. 
"But  the  season  is  so  far  advanced  now  that 
I  fear  that  the  snowstorms  and  the  ice  will 
make  us  prisoners  on  Minong  if  we  go  now 
and  our  father  and  mother  will  think  that  the 
great  cold  lake  has  swallowed  us." 

"I  will  send  word  to  your  father  and  I  will 
send  you  a  message  to  Minong." 


124  THE  SILVER  ISLAND 

"How  can  you  send  us  a  message  to  Mi 
nong?" 

"If  you  have  not  come  back  when  the  days 
and  nights  are  equal,  I  will  go  to  Tabahta, 
the  island  white  men  call  Pie  Island.  It  is 
high,  and  plenty  of  trees  grow  on  it.  "With 
big  trunks  and  many  green  boughs  I  shall 
make  a  big  black  smoke  which  you  can  see  on 
Minong  if  the  day  is  clear.  If  the  gray  fog 
hides  the  shores  of  Minong,  I  shall  wait  till 
the  sun  melts  it  away." 

"What  will  the  smoke  tell  us?"  asked  Dan 
eagerly. 

1  i  One  big  smoke  will  say :  '  All  is  well.  Le 
Noir  has  gone  to  trap  beaver.'  Two  smokes 
will  say:  'Le  Noir  is  on  your  trail.  Thrust 
your  hunting-knife  into  his  black  heart  or 
pierce  it  with  a  bullet.' 

"When  you  see  my  message,  you  will  make 
one  big  smoke  on  Minong  opposite  Pie  Is 
land.  It  will  say  to  me:  'I  have  read  your 
message.'  " 

"That's  a  fine  plan,"  Dan  broke  in,  his 
eyes  flashing  and  his  heart  beating  fast. 


OF  THE  CHIPPEWA  125 

"But  what  will  you  do  if  you  don't  get  an  an 
swer?" 

"I  shall  build  a  wigwam  on  Greenstone 
Point  of  Pie  Island.  I  shall  stay  till  the  same 
moon  comes  around  again  and  I  shall  send 
up  one  or  two  big  smokes  on  every  day  my 
eyes  can  see  the  dark  shore  of  Minong." 

"Shall  we  find  meat  on  Minong?  I  do  not 
know  the  great  island,"  Dan  inquired. 

"The  streams  and  lakes  and  the  bays  of 
Minong  are  full  of  fish,  and  in  the  forest  runs 
Wahbooson,  the  rabbit,  and  the  lynx  crouches 
in  the  thickets,  and  Ahtik,  the  antlered  cari 
bou,  travels  on  the  marshes  and  ridges.  You 
have  a  gun  and  traps  and  should  find  plenty 
of  meat. 

"If  you  have  not  returned  and  feasted  with 
your  friends  when  the  summer  days  are  long 
est,  I  shall  again  make  smokes  on  Tabahta. 
If  I  do  not  see  your  smokes  before  the  same 
moon  returns  to  the  summer  forest,  I  shall 
know  that  the  great  sea  has  swallowed  you, 
and  Anego  will  weep  for  you  and  I  shall  go 
and  tell  your  father  that  his  sons  were  brave, 


126  THE  SILVER  ISLAND 

that  they  have  fought  the  big  waves  of  the 
sea  and  that  they  will  not  come  back  to  the 
Lake-of-Much-Rain. ' ' 

"We  will  go,  Amigoosheb,"  said  Dan  with 
a  hearty  handshake  and  a  quaver  in  his  voice, 
"and  may  the  God  of  the  white  man  bless  you 
for  the  friendship  you  have  shown  us." 


CHAPTER  XVI 

INTO    THE    UNKNOWN 

A  FEW  days  later  Amigoosheb  and  Le 
Noir  started  northward  for  a  moose 
hunt,  while  Dan,  Harry,  and  Mag- 
wah  went  to  bring  in  a  deer  they  had  killed 
the  day  before. 

Amigoosheb  went  out  of  his  way  several 
miles,  ostensibly  to  see  the  deer,  but  in  real 
ity  to  convince  Le  Noir  that  this  story  about 
the  deer  was  not  a  ruse,  although  Le  Noir 
had  not  uttered  a  word  of  suspicion. 

The  meat  having  been  brought  home,  the 
three  lads  lost  no  time  starting  on  the  trail 
down  the  Pigeon  Eiver,  the  falls  and  rapids 
of  which  thundered  and  rushed  with  a  wild- 
ness  and  magnificence  more  impressive  than 
anything  Harry  had  ever  seen. 

Although  no  wind  was  stirring,  when  to 
ward  evening  they  reached  Lake  Superior, 

127 


128  THE  SILVER  ISLAND 

big  rolling  waves  were  running  from  north 
east  to  southwest,  and  white-capped  breakers 
were  dashing  against  the  high  steep  shore, 
pounding  it  with  big  angular  rocks  as  with 
gigantic  sledge  hammers,  and  in  the  little 
cove,  near  which  the  boys  had  camped,  the 
incoming  waves  pushed  the  pebbly  shingle 
back  and  forth,  back  and  forth,  all  night  with 
a  dull  grinding  sound. 

' '  Oh,  Dan ! ' '  exclaimed  Harry.  ' '  I  'm  afraid 
to  go  out  on  that  lake!  It  looks  as  big  as 
the  ocean,  and  the  waves  smash  against  the 
cliffs  like  a  thousand  pile-drivers.  And  the 
water  smells  terribly  cold. ' ' 

"Almost  any  boy  would  be  scared  of  Lake 
Superior,"  was  Dan's  quieting  remark, 
"when  the  waves  run  high.  But  you  ought 
to  see  the  lake  in  a  real  storm ! 

"Let's  go  out  on  that  point  and  I  will  show 
you  something. 

"Do  you  see  those  rocks  as  big  as  cabins, 
lying  below  the  cliff?  Waves  and  frost  broke 
them  off.  In  the  next  big  storm  the  waves 
will  lift  them  up  and  dash  them  into  smaller 


OF  THE  CHIPPEWA  129 

rocks,  or  during  winter,  frost  and  ice  will  split 
them  and  then  the  waves  grind  the  small  rocks 
down  to  flat,  rounded  pebbles,  and  rub  the 
pebbles  back  and  forth  and  make  clay  and 
fine  sand  out  of  them. 

' '  That 's  the  way  the  waves  and  storms  have 
worked  ever  since  the  big  basin  was  filled." 

"And  how  deep  is  it?"  Harry  wanted  to 
know. 

"A  thousand  feet  in  the  deepest  places.  It 
goes  down  three  or  four  hundred  feet  below 
the  level  of  the  ocean." 

"But  what  keeps  it  so  terribly  cold  all  sum 
mer?" 

' '  You  know  the  summers  are  short  in  this 
country  and  the  snow  lies  deep  and  long  in 
the  forests.  Most  of  the  water  that  runs  into 
the  lake  is  as  cold  as  ice  water,  and  the  lake 
is  so  deep  that  the  waves  can't  stir  it  all  and 
the  sun  can't  shine  to  the  bottom." 

"Can't  you  ever  take  a  swim  in  it,  Dan?" 

"No,  not  in  the  open  lake.  Its  water  is 
always  clear  and  cool  and  fine  to  drink  just 
as  you  dip  it  out,  but  for  swimming  it  feels 


130  THE  SILVEB  ISLAND 

like  ice  water.  But  you  can  try  it  if  you 
want  to." 

"Not  I.  It  scares  me  to  look  at  it  and  I 
can  smell  that  it's  as  cold  as  ice." 

1 '  In  warm,  calm  weather, ' '  Dan  explained, 
"you  can  swim  in  the  little  basins  and  coves 
cut  off  from  the  lake.  In  these  the  sun 
reaches  the  bottom  and  warms  the  water,  but 
in  a  storm  the  cold  waves  run  over  all  of 
them." 

Isle  Koyale,  for  which  the  lads  peered 
eagerly  southeastward,  although  often  dimly 
visible  on  the  horizon,  was  now  invisible  on 
account  of  a  bluish  haze,  of  which  it  was  hard 
to  tell  whether  it  consisted  of  water  vapor 
or  of  a  thin  smoke  from  distant  forest 
fires. 

Magwah,  who  was  in  no  hurry  to  return, 
stayed  with  the  boys  overnight,  and  during 
the  cold  evening,  all  three  of  them  wrapped 
in  blankets  like  Indians,  sat  around  the  camp- 
fire  and  speculated  on  the  whereabout  of  Ami- 
goosheb  and  Le  Noir,  and  wondered  what  Le 
Noir  would  do  when  he  returned  to  the  Pigeon 


OF  THE  CHIPPEWA  131 

Kiver  and  learned  that  Dan  and  Harry  had 
given  him  the  slip. 

"How  will  you  know,  Magwah,"  asked 
Harry,  "whether  Le  Noir  follows  us  or  not?" 
as  an  hour  later  the  boys  lay  rolled  up  in 
their  tent,  listening  to  the  heavy  thuds  and 
splashes  of  the  breakers  and  to  the  dull 
grinding  of  the  pebbles. 

"Father  and  I  have  tracked  moose  and 
foxes  and  deer,"  the  Indian  boy  answered 
with  a  laugh;  "a  man  with  a  canoe  cannot 
creep  into  a  hole  in  the  bank  like  shaung- 
washa,  the  gliding  mink." 

It  was  not  until  the  second  morning  that 
the  swell  had  gone  down  enough  for  the  two 
brothers  to  make  a  dash  for  Isle  Eoyale. 

"We  might  as  well  head  her  east-north 
east,"  said  Dan,  as  they  had  gotten  clear  of 
the  rocks,  "so  as  to  strike  a  point  about  in 
the  middle  of  Isle  Koyale  opposite  Pie  Is 
land. 

"It's  a  good  twenty-mile  stretch,  Harry, 
so  let's  keep  up  a  steady  thrust,  the  longer 
we  are  on  the  open  lake,  the  greater  the 


132  THE  SILVER  ISLAND 

chance  of  running  into  a  squall  or  a  fog,  which, 
is  no  fun  on  this  big  body  of  water." 

"When  they  were  a  few  miles  out,  they  found 
the  swell  still  much  stronger  than  they  had 
expected,  but  as  the  waves  did  not  run  choppy 
and  white-capped,  it  was  great  fun  to  steer 
their  light  canoe,  bobbing  up  and  down  over 
the  broad  crests  and  through  the  wide 
troughs. 

Not  until  they  were  within  six  miles  of 
Minong,  which  had  been  plainly  in  sight  for 
some  time  like  a  long  line  of  dark  high  for 
est,  did  they  encounter  any  real  danger  and 
difficulty. 

For  half  an  hour  they  had  seen  a  mass  of 
gray  approaching  from  the  northeast,  and 
before  the  two  bold  sailors  quite  realized  what 
was  going  to  happen,  they  were  so  completely 
shut  in  by  one  of  the  dreaded  fogs  of  the 
great  Northern  lake  that  they  could  scarcely 
see  fifty  yards  around  them.  At  the  same 
time  they  ran  into  a  stretch  of  more  choppy 
waves,  although  there  was  no  strong  wind. 

"Now,  keep  at  it,  little  brother,  keep  at  it! 


OF  THE  CHIPPEWA  133 

The  sooner  we  get  out  of  this  the  better.  I'll 
steer  her  by  the  wind  and  by  compass.  If  it 
doesn't  get  stormy  we'll  make  it;  but  six 
miles  in  a  fog  is  a  blamed  long  stretch." 


CHAPTER  XVH 

BATTLING    WITH   WAVES   AND    FOG 

IT  was  a  long  stretch.  Little  Harry 
worked  at  the  paddle  until  his  arms  felt 
like  strings  of  sore  and  bleeding  muscles, 
and  his  aching  back  made  him  think  that  he 
could  not  sit  upright  much  longer. 

In  the  bottom  of  the  boat,  behind  a  pack, 
lay  Waggles,  shivering.  Up  and  down,  up 
and  down  bobbed  the  light  craft.  Now  and 
then  a  little  cold  spray  sprang  over  the  bow 
or  gunwale,  the  fog  was  getting  denser  and 
changing  into  a  cold  chilling  mist,  which  was 
creeping  through  their  clothes  and  chilling 
their  flesh  like  ice. 

" Aren't  we  ever  going  to  get  there?" 
asked  Harry.  "It  seems  to  me  we've  been 
paddling  a  whole  day ! ' ' 

"We're  about  half  through  the  fog,  I 
guess.  Better  go  a  little  slower  now." 

134 


OF  THE  CHIPPEWA  135 

"How  do  you  know  where  we  are,  Dan?" 
"I  don't  know  it.    I'm  guessing  at  it." 
' '  I — I  'm  scared,  Dan !    I — I — think — we  've 
plumb  missed  the  whole  island,"  Harry  at 
last   relieved  himself,   shivering  with   cold. 
"We're  lost,  and  we'll  drown.    It's  getting 
dark  now!" 

' '  Oh,  rot !  Harry, ' '  replied  Dan.  1 1  We  're 
not  lost  and  we  can't  miss  the  island  because 
it's  forty  miles  long.  We're  still  headed 
east-northeast  and  will  surely  strike  it.  I 
could  steer  us  to  Isle  Eoyale  by  the  wind  even 
if  I  had  no  compass." 

But  even  while  saying  these  words,  Dan 
turned  the  canoe  almost  southeast.  They 
surely  had  been  going  a  long  time.  It 
couldn't  possibly  be  evening  yet,  and  still  it 
seemed  to  be  getting  dark  as  Harry  claimed. 
The  bobbing  and  swinging  needle  of  the  com 
pass  lying  before  him  was  almost  useless,  and 
he  had  really  been  steering  by  the  wind. 
Perhaps  the  wind  had  slowly  shifted  north 
ward  and  he  had  been  steering  along  half-way 
between  the  mainland  and  Isle  Royale !  The 


136  THE  SILVER  ISLAND 

waves  were  getting  bigger  too.  If  darkness 
and  a  storm  should  catch  them  in  this  dan 
gerous  channel,  they  would  never  see  another 
sunrise. 

"Get  down  in  the  bottom  and  roll  up  in  a 
blanket ! "  he  gruffly  ordered  Harry ;  "  so  you 
get  warm.  You're  shivering  just  like  the 
pup ! ' ' 

"I  won't  do  it,  Dan.  I'll  paddle  as  long  as 
you're  paddling.  I'll  not  crawl  away  like  a 
baby!"  retorted  Harry,  almost  choking  with 
tears,  and  Dan  did  not  insist;  but  he  spent 
a  bad  half  hour  wondering  where  he  was  and 
what  he  should  do  if  the  impenetrable  dark 
ness  of  a  foggy  night  overtook  them  before 
they  found  land. 

Under  the  spur  of  this  anxiety  his  muscular 
arms  seemed  to  double  their  strength,  and, 
with  the  paddle  bending  at  every  long  stroke, 
he  fairly  sent  the  light  craft  shooting  along 
in  the  troughs  or  on  the  ridges  of  the  long 
black  swells  which  rose  and  fell  mysteriously 
under  the  all-enveloping  gray  mist. 

Straight  southeast  he  drove  the  bow.    He 


OF  THE  CIIIPPEWA  137 

forgot  that  he  was  drenched  to  the  skin,  his 
powerful  frame  became  pervaded  by  a  feel 
ing  of  warmth,  and  the  sweat  of  his  forehead 
mingled  with  the  drizzle  of  the  thickening 
mist  which  his  large  blue  eyes  vainly  sought 
to  pierce. 

With  growing  anxiety  he  strained  his  ears 
to  catch  some  faint  sound  from  the  land  which 
must  be  near  now,  unless — he  feared  to  finish 
the  thought — yes,  unless  by  some  error  in 
judgment  or  trick  of  the  elements,  he  had 
been  steering  along  in  mid-channel,  parallel 
to  the  straight  rocky  shore  of  Minong.  But 
even  the  acute  hearing  of  a  trained  hunter 
could  detect  no  sound  of  hope.  Small  comb 
ers  seethed  on  the  crests  of  the  swells  and 
broke  with  monotonous  splashings  against 
the  side  or  the  bow  of  the  canoe, — forebod 
ing  sounds  of  desolation  on  a  fog-shrouded 
waste. 

On  and  on  they  labored  in  silence.  There, 
what  was  that?  Dan  held  his  paddle  and 
listened.  Yes,  there  was  no  mistake.  A 
faint  sound  of  the  piercing  scream  of  gulls 


138  THE  SILVER  ISLAND 

dead  ahead!  Dan  gave  a  shout  and  almost 
sprang  up  in  the  boat. 

"Hear  the  gulls,  Harry,  the  gulls!"  he 
cried.  "We  are  near  land!" 

Louder  and  louder  grew  the  screams,  and 
the  lads  slackened  their  speed  so  as  not  to 
wreck  the  boat  on  concealed  rocks. 

The  cries  of  the  gulls  became  deafening, 
but  to  the  two  brothers  no  song  of  thrush  or 
whitethroat  had  ever  sounded  so  joyously 
sweet. 

Now  they  passed  close  by  a  small  rocky 
island,  white  with  hundreds  of  gulls,  and  ris 
ing  like  a  small  iceberg  out  of  the  black  lake 
and  the  fog. 

"We  can't  be  more  than  a  mile  from  Isle 
Eoyale,"  Dan  rejoiced. 

1 1  Steady  now,  the  coast  of  Minong  in  some 
places  is  strewn  with  reefs  and  small  islands. 

' '  Give  a  yell,  Harry.  The  echo  will  tell  us 
when  we  get  close  to  land. ' ' 

Again  and  again  Harry  shouted  at  the  top 
of  his  voice. 

Now  the  echo  came  back,  through  the  fog. 


ON    AND   ON   THEY    LABORED   IN    S1LKNCE. — Page  137. 


OF  THE  CHIPPEWA  139 

Faint  at  first,  but  growing  louder  every  min 
ute,  and  then  a  wall  of  solid  rock  crowned 
with  trees  and  bushes,  suddenly  thrust  itself 
out  of  the  fog,  scarcely  twenty  yards  ahead 
of  them. 

* '  Thank  God ! ' '  cried  Dan,  with  barely  con 
trolled  emotion,  " there's  Minong,  the  royal 
island!  No  land  ever  looked  quite  so  good 
to  me ! ' ' 


CHAPTER  XVHI 

THB    FIRST   CAMP    ON   ISLE    KOYALB 

HAEEY  wanted  to  make  camp  on  a 
narrow  strip  of  sandy  beach  close 
to  the  lake,  but  Dan  pointed  to  a 
line  on  the  cliffs  fifteen  feet  above  them. 

"Do  you  know  why  no  lichens  and  mosses 
grow  below  that  line  1 "  he  asked.  * '  Because 
that's  the  height  to  which  the  waves  dash  up. 
If  we  camp  on  this  beach  we  might  be  washed 
into  the  lake  with  our  whole  outfit." 

They  carried  their  equipment  up  through 
a  wide  crevice  and  selected  a  sheltered  spot 
behind  some  spruces  for  a  camp  site.  Their 
canoe  they  deposited  in  the  crevice,  well  above 
the  reach  of  the  waves. 

While  Harry  made  supper,  consisting  of 
hot  tea,  big  chunks  of  broiled  venison  and 
hardtack,  Dan  set  up  their  small  A  tent,  and 
cut  a  lot  of  firewood  for  the  night.  For  their 

140 


THE  SILVER  ISLAND  141 

tea  he  brought  out  a  small  bag  of  brown  sugar 
which  thus  far  he  had  concealed  from  Harry. 

It  was  not  until  they  sat  down  to  supper 
that  the  boys  became  aware  of  how  hungry, 
wet  and  cold  they  were ;  but  the  sweet  hot  tea 
and  the  juicy  venison  at  once  revived  their 
spirits  and  their  energy. 

"It's  going  to  get  dark  early,"  said  Dan 
when  he  had  finished  his  share  of  the  meat. 
"Let's  put  our  camp  in  shape  at  once  and 
then  get  into  some  dry  clothes." 

So  Harry  washed  the  dishes  and  cut  a  lot 
of  balsam  boughs  which  he  dried  near  the  fire 
before  he  spread  them  out  for  their  bed. 

Dan  cut  two  large  back  logs  of  green  poplar 
and  then  cut  two  green  birch  trees  into 
lengths  of  about  three  feet. 

He  selected  the  green  poplar  for  back  logs 
because  he  knew  that  the  abundant  sap  in 
green  poplar  would  keep  the  logs  from  burn 
ing  through  too  quickly. 

In  front  of  the  back  logs,  facing  the  open 
tent,  he  soon  had  going  a  warm  steady  fire 
of  green  birch  chunks  which  filled  the  tent 


142  THE  SILVER  ISLAND 

with  a  warm  ruddy  glow  and  took  the  chill 
and  dampness  out  of  things. 

"Dan,  this  is  the  swellest  camp  I've  ever 
been  in,"  Harry  exclaimed,  when  everything 
was  in  shape  and  the  boys  had  put  on  dry 
clothes  and  moccasins. 

"I  wish  Father  and  Mother  and  sister  were 
here  now.  I  could  listen  all  night  to  you  and 
Father  telling  stories. 

"Why  didn't  we  ever  make  such  a  camp 
before?" 

"You  don't  need  a  back-log  fire  on  a  hot 
summer  night,  but  on  a  cold  autumn  night  it's 
the  only  thing  to  make  a  camp  warm  and  cozy, 
especially  when  a  man  is  wet  and  chilled  clear 
to  his  bones  as  we  were  in  that  horrible,  cold 
fog." 

"Why  didn't  you  cut  up  some  dead  and  dry 
wood?"  Harry  wanted  to  know. 

"You  need  dry  wood  for  cooking,  but  for 
a  back-log  fire  it  burns  too  fast.  We  want 
this  fire  to  keep  going  all  night,  and  I  don't 
believe  I  care  to  get  up  and  feed  it  more  than 
twice. " 


OF  THE  CHIPPEWA  143 

"But  why  did  you  hunt  around  for  birch; 
what's  the  matter  with  spruce  or  balsam?" 

"All  the  evergreens  contain  resin  and  burn 
too  fast.  They  also  make  a  lot  of  smoke  and 
leave  no  good  bed  of  coal. ' ' 

"What  about  green  oak  and  poplar?" 

' '  They  are  good  for  back  logs,  but  for  fuel 
they  burn  too  slowly.  You'd  get  no  heat  out 
of  them  and  they  might  even  go  out  if  they 
weren't  piled  up  right.  Dry  oak  is  good,  but 
it's  too  hard  to  cut.  Birch  and  hard  maple 
are  the  best  in  this  country.  Hickory  and 
beech  are  fine,  but  I  feel  sure  we  shall  not 
find  them  on  Isle  Eoyale. ' ' 

By  the  time  the  boys  were  ready  to  go  to 
sleep,  the  wind  had  freshened  and  had  veered 
around  to  the  northwest  and  the  fog  and  mist 
had  changed  to  a  cold  drizzling  autumn  rain. 

Harry  stepped  out  of  the  tent  to  look 
around  and  listen. 

"Lord,"  he  exclaimed,  "I  never  saw  such 
black,  pitchy  darkness!  You  can't  see  a 
thing  ten  feet  from  the  fire. 

"But  I  can  hear  the  swishing  and  splash- 


144  THE  SILVER  ISLAND 

ing  of  the  waves.  Ugh!  I'm  mighty  glad 
we  aren't  out  on  that  big  cold  lake  now!" 

"  If  we  were, ' '  replied  Dan, '  *  we  'd  probably 
stay  there  for  good. 

"But  now  let's  roll  in;  to-morrow  we  start 
exploring  the  coast  of  this  big  island  in  dead 
earnest,  and  it's  not  going  to  be  a  small  and 
easy  job." 


CHAPTER  XIX 

A   BEMAKKABLE    DISCOVEEY   AND   A   FATEFUL 
MESSAGE 

THEY  did  not  start  exploring  the  coast 
on  the  next  day.  When  Dan  awoke 
at  dawn  of  day,  the  waves  pounded 
and  swashed  against  the  brown  rocks  below 
the  camp,  the  tops  of  the  spruces  were  bend 
ing  in  the  wind,  and  low  gray  clouds,  scud 
ding  fast  before  the  northwester,  poured  a 
fine  cold  rain  over  the  uninhabited  wilderness. 

"No  trip  to-day,"  he  thought.  "Mighty 
fine  in  this  camp  on  solid  ground. ' ' 

He  arose  and  put  some  wood  on  the  fire 
which  was  almost  out. 

"Looks  like  a  good  day  for  making  up 
sleep.  Doesn  't  worry  us  now ;  let  her  blow ! ' ' 
and  in  five  minutes  he  was  asleep  again. 

Several  hours  later  Harry  woke  up. 
"Dan,"  he  called,  as  he  still  rubbed  his  eyes, 

145 


146  THE  SILVER  ISLAND 

"wake  up!  Hear  the  breakers,  and  see  the 
rain  coming  down.  It  looks  like  fall,  almost 
like  winter.  What  are  we  going  to  do  to 
day?" 

"Nothing,  sonny!  You  may  sleep  some 
more." 

"Not  I,"  Harry  replied,  as  he  sprang  up 
and  began  to  dress.  "I  slept  like  a  ground 
hog,  but  now  I'm  as  wide-awake  as  a  rabbit. 
Let's  dress  and  get  breakfast.  I'm  hungry!" 

The  rain  and  storm  continued  all  day  and 
the  boys  had  much  time  to  think  and  talk 
things  over,  for  exploring  the  island  in  this 
weather  was  out  of  the  question.  In  many 
places  the  shore  was  impassable  because  the 
pounding  waves  broke  high  against  the  steep 
cliffs,  and  on  the  main  body  of  the  island  the 
brush  and  trees  were  so  laden  with  rain  that 
a  walk  of  a  few  rods  would  have  wet  the 
clothing  of  the  boys  through  and  through. 

Dan  cut  up  another  poplar  and  a  few 
birches  for  the  camp-fire  and  some  dead 
spruces  for  cooking,  while  Harry  went  down 


OF  THE  CHIPPEWA  147 

the  crevice  and  dipped  some  water  from  a 
pocket  in  the  rock. 

Harry  wondered  if  their  mother  wouldn't 
worry  a  good  deal  about  them ; ' '  because, ' '  he 
figured,  "we've  been  gone  now  more  than 
three  months,  but  so  many  things  have  hap 
pened  that  it  seems  a  year." 

Dan,  too,  thought  that  Mother  and  Mar 
garet  would  be  worried,  but  he  assured 
Harry,  ' '  Father  knows  that  we  can  take  care 
of  ourselves,  and  he'll  tell  them  not  to  worry." 

"But  didn't  we  have  a  close  call  in  that 
fog?"  asked  Harry. 

"Maybe  we  did,  but  that's  a  part  of  the 
game,  and  Father  knows  that.  He's  not 
afraid  of  taking  chances. ' ' 

"Do  you  really  think,"  Harry  wanted  to 
know,  "that  the  Indians  will  find  out  where 
Le  Noir  will  go  when  he  and  Amigoosheb 
come  back  from  their  moose  hunt?  Won't 
he  give  them  the  slip  ? ' ' 

"Not  very  likely,"  Dan  replied  with  a 
smile.  "One  will  watch  the  Pigeon  Eiver 


148  THE  SILVEB  ISLAND 

Portage  and  the  other  will  watch  for  him  on 
the  Brule,  and  these  are  the  only  two  ways 
he  can  go  if  he  intends  to  follow  us.  He'll 
most  likely  come  down  the  Brule,  because 
that's  the  easiest  passage  and  is  farthest 
away  from  Amigoosheb's  wigwam. 

"As  for  shaking  an  Indian  scout  if  he's 
once  on  your  trail,  you  might  as  well  try  to 
shake  your  own  shadow. 

"A  Chippewa  is  a  born  scout  and  trailer, 
and  Amigoosheb  is  the  best  I  ever  knew.  He 
would  be  able  to  lose  Le  Noir,  but  Le  Noir 
will  never  lose  him." 

1  'To  tell  the  truth,  Dan,  I'm  scared  of  Le 
Noir.  He's  got  such  an  ugly  look.  Aren't 
you  scared  of  him  at  all?" 

"I  might  be,"  Dan  admitted,  "if  he  could 
sneak  up  on  us.  But  he  can't  as  long  as  the 
pup  is  with  us.  That's  why  I  took  the  pup 
along. ' ' 

"You  did!"  exclaimed  Harry;  "and  you 
never  told  me!  So  my  pup's  good  for  some 
thing  anyhow!  Wake  up,  Waggles!  D'you 
hear  that  ? 


OF  THE  CHIPPEWA  149 

"But,  Dan,  would  you  kill  Le  Noir  if  he 
followed  us?" 

"I  certainly  would,  before  I  gave  him  a 
chance  to  kill  you  or  me  or  the  pup!"  Dan 
declared  with  his  jaws  set  and  his  eyes  flash 
ing. 

And  Harry  thought,  "By  George!  he'll  do 
it, ' '  as  he  watched  the  face  of  his  big  brother. 

"You  know  what  I  think?"  Harry  resumed 
after  awhile.  "I  think  we'll  starve  to  death 
here  if  winter  catches  us. 

"I  haven't  seen  a  sign  of  deer  or  rabbit, 
not  even  of  any  small  birds.  This  Isle  Roy- 
ale  is  sure  the  wildest  place  I  ever  dreamt 
of." 

"There  aren't  any  deer  or  moose  on  the 
island,  and  rabbits  don't  hop  around  much  in 
the  rain,  and  near  the  coast  they  stay  in  the 
brush.  As  for  birds,  I  don't  expect  to  see 
many.  The  island  is  too  cool  and  too  wet. 
There  aren't  enough  bugs  and  berries  here 
to  attract  many  birds.  But  some  birds  will 
come  after  these  wild  mountain-ash  berries 
that  are  so  plentiful. 


150  THE  SILVEB  ISLAND 

* '  But  you  needn  't  worry  about  starving.  I 
know  there  are  plenty  of  rabbits  on  the  island, 
and  where  the  rabbits  are,  you'll  find  plenty 
of  lynx;  and  we  can  find  caribou,  I  think. 
And  I  know  we  can  catch  plenty  of  fish,  so 
I'm  not  worrying  about  starving. 

' '  I  am  worried  about  finding  Silver  Island. 
If  I  only  knew  what  Hamigeesek  meant  by 
the  'Sitting  Crane'  and  whereabouts  it  was, 
I'd  feel  easier.  But  as  it  is,  we  are  hunting 
for  a  grouse  chick  hidden  in  the  brush.  You 
seldom  find  the  grayish-brown,  squatting 
little  things  until  you  almost  step  on  them." 

After  a  few  days  when  the  weather  had 
cleared  and  the  lake  had  become  calm,  the 
boys  paddled  northeastward  along  the  shore. 
They  passed  numerous  small  rocky  islands 
above  which  hundreds  of  gulls  were  scream 
ing  and  soaring,  but  they  discovered  no  point 
or  headland  to  which  even  the  picturesque 
language  of  the  Chippewa  could  possibly  ap 
ply  the  name  of  Sitting  Crane. 

On  the  second  morning  they  entered  a  long 
and  very  narrow  bay  which  ran  two  miles 


OF  THE  CHIPPEWA  151 

into  the  island,  and  which  Dan,  from  a  crude 
sketch  by  Amigoosheb,  recognized  as  Mc- 
Cargo's  Cove. 

On  the  shore  of  this  fiord  they  made  a  re 
markable  discovery.  For  a  distance  of  two 
miles  they  found  many  pits  from  three  to  six 
feet  deep,  and  in  the  pits  they  discovered 
metallic  copper  in  small  pieces  and  veins  as 
if  it  had  grown  in  the  rock,  but  in  a  few  pits* 
they  found  sheets  of  copper  over  a  foot 
square.  These  sheets  also  seemed  to  have 
grown  in  the  rock. 

Around  the  pits  lay  thousands  of  small 
boulders  worn  rough  and  flat  on  one  end, 
showing  that  they  had  been  used  as  hammers 
by  unknown  miners. 

But  the  long  lines  of  pits  were  not  the  only 
discovery  the  boys  made.  Near  the  pits  ex 
tended  long  lines  of  small  earth-mounds  evi 
dently  thrown  up  by  a  forgotten  race  a  long 
time  ago. 

"What  in  all  the  world  can  these  things 
mean?"  both  of  them  asked  with  wonder; 
"and  when  were  these  pits  worked?" 


152  THE  SILVER  ISLAND 

"I  never  heard  the  Indians  talk  about  these 
copper  mines,"  Dan  added. 

"As  to  the  time  past  since  the  pits  were 
worked,  we  ought  to  be  able  to  fix  that  pretty 
close.  Let's  cut  down  one  of  the  biggest 
trees  on  the  edge  of  a  pit. ' ' 

When  two  old  gnarly  pines  had  been  felled, 
they  counted  on  one  of  them  about  two  hun 
dred  and  fifty  rings  and  on  the  other  over 
three  hundred. 

"That  means,"  Dan  explained,  "that  for 
about  three  hundred  years  these  mines  have 
not  been  worked,  so  it's  no  wonder  the  In 
dians  have  forgotten  about  them.  Most  of 
their  traditions  do  not  go  back  very  far." 

"But  do  you  think,"  asked  Harry,  whose 
curiosity  was  now  much  aroused,  "that  a  lot 
of  lazy  Indians  would  mine  copper?  Don't 
they  hate  that  kind  of  work?" 

"Who  else  could  have  done  it?  No  other 
people  ever  lived  in  this  country.  The  West 
ern  tribes  quit  working  here  for  copper  when 
the  Eastern  tribes  came  into  contact  with 
white  men  who  sold  them  better  and  cheaper 


OF  THE  CHIPPEWA  153 

metal  weapons,  knives,  and  ornaments  than 
they  could  make  with  their  crude  tools  from 
the  copper  they  mined  here  in  their  primitive 
fashion." 

"But  what  about  these  earth  mounds?" 

"I  don't  know,  Harry.  Let's  open  one  of 
them." 

With  two  thick  balsam  poles  cut  flat  at  the 
end,  the  boys  dug  into  one  of  the  small 
mounds,  but  it  contained  no  relics  of  any 
kind. 

"Dan,  this  is  great  sport,"  Harry  broke 
out  as  he  continued  to  dig  away  with  his  flat 
tened  pole.  "Let's  stay  here  a  week  and  dig 
into  every  mound  and  pit. 

"You  know  that  I  just  fancy  there  might 
be  some  silver  where  there's  such  a  lot  of 
copper  lying  around  loose. 

"I'm  just  crazy  to  know  how  the  Indians 
dug  these  pits  in  the  hard  rock.  May  be, 
Dan,  they  took  away  the  silver  and  left  the 
copper,  and  if  we  only  knew  how  they  dug 
the  pits  we  could  find  lots  of  silver  ourselves 
and  wouldn't  have  to  hunt  for  that  island 


154  THE  SILVEB  ISLAND 

under  the  Sitting  Crane.  We'll  never  find  it 
anyway,  Dan.  It 's  like  hunting  for  a  marble 
you  lost  on  a  fishing  trip.  If  we  stay  here 
and  start  mining  we  '11  run  a  better  chance  of 
finding  something  than  we  '11  have  if  we  chase 
around  looking  for  that  fool  island." 

And  Harry  grew  almost  eloquent  as  he 
continued:  "Dan,  you  don't  know  if  that 
fool  island  is  near  by  or  a  hundred  miles 
away.  Let's  chuck  the  pesky  thing  and  dig 
for  silver  right  here.  Maybe  we'll  find  gold 
too. 

"I  don't  believe  Amigoosheb  knew  what  he 
was  talking  about  anyhow.  That  stuff  about 
an  island  under  the  breast  of  a  crane  is  just 
rot,  Dan,  and  Hamigeesek  has  just  been 
stuffing  Amigoosheb." 

Dan  did  not  try  to  argue  these  points  with 
Harry,  for  he  was  himself  very  much  inter 
ested  in  these  old  copper  mines,  and  wondered 
why  the  Indians  had  never  told  him  about 
them  and  why  they  never  went  there  for 
copper. 

"Let's  go  back  and  look  at  some  more  of 


OF  THE  CHIPPEWA  155 

the  pits,"  was  all  he  answered  to  Harry's 
long  talk. 

Several  things  soon  struck  the  attention  of 
both  of  the  boys ;  the  rock  did  not  look  as  if 
it  had  been  broken  by  heavy  hammers  and  it 
had  surely  not  been  blasted  by  gunpowder. 
Besides  pieces  and  veins  of  copper,  small 
stone  hand-hammers  and  a  few  pieces  of  char 
coal  were  the  only  things  of  interest  they 
found  in  all  the  pits  they  cleaned  out. 

Suddenly  as  Harry  picked  up  another  piece 
of  charcoal,  Dan  exclaimed:  "I've  got  it! 
I've  got  it! 

' '  They  built  a  hot  fire  on  the  rock  and  then 
blasted  the  heated  rock  by  pouring  water  on 
it." 

"Hurrah,  hurrah!"  cried  Harry.  "Let's 
try  it,  Dan;  let's  try  it.  I'll  bet  we'll  find 
something  wonderful." 

A  hot  fire  was  soon  blazing  on  a  selected 
spot.  Harry  went  down  to  the  cove  and 
brought  their  two  small  kettles  filled  with 
water. 

When  Dan  had  raked  away  the  coal,  Harry 


156  THE  SILVER  ISLAND 

dashed  the  water  on  the  rock,  while  Waggles 
watched  with  a  half-human  curiosity. 

li  Crack,  bing!"  went  the  red-hot  rock  as 
soon  as  the  cold  water  touched  it.  One  piece 
barely  missed  Harry's  face  and  another  just 
skimmed  clear  of  the  upright  tail  of  Waggles 
who  immediately  dropped  his  flag  of  good 
humor  to  half-mast  and  hid  under  a  thick 
spruce  bush. 

1 '  Great  pup !  brave  pup ! ' '  Dan  roared  with 
laughter.  "Did  you  see  him  scoot  for  the 
woods,  Harry?  He  thought  there  was  a 
moose  breaking  out  of  the  rock!" 

Harry,  who  looked  a  little  pale  after  setting 
off  his  first  blast,  threw  on  the  second  kettle- 
ful  from  a  safer  distance. 

"You  needn't  always  make  fun  of  him," 
he  then  defended  his  dog  angrily.  "He's 
not  afraid  of  things  he  knows. 

"I  bet  you  were  scared  yourself  to  pour  on 
the  water,  that 's  why  you  let  me  do  it.  That 's 
mighty  brave  of  a  big  fellow  like  you ;  it  might 
have  killed  me." 

When  Dan  just  kept  laughing,  Harry  grew 


OF  THE  CHIPPEWA  157 

so  angry  that  he  started  throwing  stones  at 
Dan.  But  Dan  stepped  behind  some  trees 
and  merrily  called  out : 

"Three  cheers  for1  Harry  McCulloch  and 
his  dog,  Waggles,  the  great  silver  miners  of 
Isle  Royale!" 

When  Harry  was  over  his  fit  of  anger,  the 
brothers  examined  their  blast.  The  rock  had 
been  blown  up  to  the  depth  of  a  foot,  and 
several  small  seams  of  copper  stood  exposed. 
They  repeated  their  blasts  several  times  and 
by  working  on  their  new  mine  all  day,  drove 
it  four  feet  deep  into  the  hard  rock.  By  dint 
of  hard  work  they  pried  and  hammered  out 
several  small  sheets  and  nuggets  of  copper, 
but  of  silver  or  gold  they  discovered  not  even 
a  trace. 

"It's  just  as  I  thought,"  remarked  Dan 
when,  dead  tired  from  the  unaccustomed 
work,  they  sat  at  the  camp-fire  eating  their 
supper;  "if  silver  or  gold  was  found  here,  the 
knowledge  of  it  would  never  have  been  lost. 
If  these  rich  copper  mines  were  near  Detroit 
they  would  be  worth  millions  perhaps,  but 


158  THE  SILVEE  ISLAND 

here  in  the  uninhabited  wilderness  of  Mi- 
nong,  they  are  worth  nothing. 

"Harry,  it's  Silver  Island  or  bust!  for  us, 
and  day  after  to-morrow  we  are  going  to  see 
Amigoosheb's  message." 

"Are  we?"  asked  Harry  in  a  listless  way. 
"We'll  never  find  Silver  Island  and  we'll 
never  see  any  of  Amigoosheb's  smoke,"  and 
with  that  he  strolled  away  into  a  birch  thicket 
where  he  lay  down  and  had  a  good  cry,  for 
the  young  boy  was  homesick,  just  awfully 
homesick. 

"I  wish  there  were  some  Indians  here  or 
even  half-breeds  like  Le  Noir ! "  he  sobbed  to 
himself.  "But  we'll  never  see  anything  here 
but  rocks  and  trees  and  water  and  storms 
and  fog,  not  even  any  birds,  only  these  horrid, 
shrieking  gulls.  If  I  ever  get  home  again 
I'll  never  leave  again!" 

However,  after  he  had  enjoyed  a  good 
night's  sleep  he  felt  better,  and  when  the 
time  came  to  watch  for  Amigoosheb's  signal, 
Harry  was  as  alert  as  ever.  Even  Waggles 
knew  that  something  was  expected  to  happen. 


OF  THE  CHIPPEWA  159 

"Look  at  that  fool  pup!"  Dan  laughed. 
"He  acts  as  if  Le  Noir  or  a  porcupine  were 
going  to  rise  out  of  the  lake. ' ' 

"Dan,  I  wish  you  wouldn't  always  call  him 
a  fool  pup!"  Harry  objected.  "If  he  was  a 
fool  he'd  be  asleep  now." 

The  boys  had  the  pile  of  fuel  for  their  an 
swer  all  in  place  before  noon.  On  the  ground 
they  had  piled  up  dry  wood  ready  to  be 
lighted.  Over  the  dry  stuff  they  had  piled 
armloads  and  armloads  of  green  boughs  of 
spruce  and  cedar  and  wet  rotten  log,  and 
more  green  boughs  were  cut  and  piled  up, 
ready  for  use  if  needed. 

But  noon  passed  and  another  hour  and  an 
other,  and  no  smoke  arose  from  Pie  Island. 

"I  told  you  we  wouldn't  see  any  smoke," 
said  Harry  in  great  disappointment.  "I 
wish  we  were  home ! ' ' 

"Now,  Harry,  remember  what  you  prom 
ised  me  and  don't  be  a  baby,"  Dan  spoke  up 
sharply.  "I  told  Amigoosheb  we'd  wait  a 
month  for  his  signal.  We  may  not  get  it  to 
day  or  to-morrow,  but  if  he 's  alive  we  '11  get 


160  THE  SILVER  ISLAND 

it.  If  you  are  ever  going  to  be  a  man,  you'll 
have  to  learn  to  wait! 

"Amigoosheb  is  a  pagan  Indian,  but  he 
stands  by  his  friends,  always!  Now,  you 
keep  your  eyes  glued  on  Pie  Island.  I  'm  go 
ing  to  lie  down  for  a  nap.  Wake  me  up  when 
you  see  smoke." 

Harry  had  been  on  watch  about  half  an 
hour  when  he  thought  he  saw  a  faint  wreath 
of  smoke  rise  amongst  the  trees  of  Pie  Is 
land,  but  the  next  moment  it  was  lost  in  the 
blue  haze  in  which  the  island  lay  spread  out 
like  a  large  dark  patch  low  on  the  horizon. 

In  order  to  make  sure,  Harry  walked  a  few 
hundred  yards  through  low  brush  to  a  higher 
point  from  which  he  could  get  a  better  view. 
Scarcely  had  he  reached  this  point  when  he 
started  back  on  a  run.  l '  Oh,  Dan,  Dan ! "  he 
yelled  at  the  top  of  his  voice;  "the  smoke! 
Amigoo" — he  stumbled  over  a  root — "  Ami 
goosheb 's  made  a  smoke,  one  big  smoke!" 

Dan  slashed  through  the  brush  like  a  moose 
and  reached  the  point  before  Harry. 

"Look  sharp,"  he  said  when  Harry  arrived 


OF  THE  CHIPPEWA  161 

all  out  of  breath;  "isn't  there  a  little  smoke 
to  the  west  of  the  big  one?" 

And  while  the  brothers  were  watching  and 
while  Waggles  was  doing  his  comical  best  to 
discover  the  cause  of  his  masters'  excitement, 
two  thick  black  smokes  appeared  over  the 
spruces  and  pines  of  Pie  Island.  Straight  up 
rose  the  dark  columns  in  the  still  clear  air 
of  autumn,  then  the  tops  began  to  spread  like 
the  crowns  of  gigantic  Norway  pines  that 
would  reach  the  sky. 

"That  smoke  tells  the  message  plainly 
enough,"  observed  Dan  as  he  vigorously 
struck  his  ax  deep  into  an  old  stump.  ' '  That 
thief  and  murderer  Le  Noir  is  on  our  trail 
again  and  we  have  to  keep  our  eyes  open  and 
our  wits  clear !  No  more  copper  mining  and 
fooling  around  for  us!" 


CHAPTER  XX 

PREPAKING  FOB   THE   ENEMY 

THE  lads  were  not  slow  in  answering 
Amigoosheb's  signal,  and  such  a 
thick  column  of  smoke  went  up  from 
their  fire  that  they  felt  sure  it  was  plainly 
visible  on  Pie  Island  fifteen  miles  away. 

But  where  was  Le  Noir  and  what  were  his 
plans?  Had  he  seen  the  signal  smokes  of 
Amigoosheb?  If  he  had,  he  had  probably 
also  surmised  their  meaning  and  had  seen  the 
signal  of  the  boys  and  would  soon  be  follow 
ing  their  trail  with  the  stealth  and  cunning  of 
a  lynx.  Could  they  outwit  him?  Or  could 
they  surprise  him  and  compel  him  to  quit 
dogging  their  trail  and  force  him  to  leave  the 
island? 

1  'Why  not  travel  by  night?"  suggested 
Harry.  "We  couldn't  get  lost  on  a  clear  still 
night." 

162 


THE  SILVER  ISLAND  163 

"I  have  thought  of  that,  too,"  replied  Dan; 
"but  it  won't  do.  We  could  never  recognize 
Silver  Island  at  night,  and  we  might  get 
wrecked  on  concealed  rocks  and  drown  within 
half  a  mile  of  land.  A  birch-bark  canoe 
doesn't  stand  much  rock  sliding.  "We  have 
to  do  our  exploring  in  broad  daylight  and 
take  our  chance  on  fighting  it  out  with  Le 
Noir  if  we  ever  sight  him. 

' '  Isle  Royale  is  so  large  that  we  might  not 
meet  him  in  a  year,  but  by  accident  we  may 
run  into  him  to-morrow. 

"We  shall  run  up  this  north  shore  and 
work  around  the  east  end  of  the  island.  If 
he  has  started  on  the  west  end  and  is  working 
around  on  the  south  shore — and  I  think  that's 
what  he  is  doing — we  shall  not  meet  him  for 
some  time,  and  I  feel  sure  that  he  could  not 
see  our  signals." 

"What  makes  you  think  he  has  gone  to  the 
west  end?" 

"Because  that  part  is  nearest  to  the  mouth 
of  the  Brule,  and  I  think  he  'd  keep  going  the 
way  he  started  and  work  around  the  south 


164  THE  SILVER  ISLAND 

shore,  and  I  have  no  doubt  he  thinks  that  we 
have  gone  that  way  too." 

The  next  morning  the  brothers  were  astir 
early.  The  sun  glittered  on  the  deep  blue 
lake,  which  lay  as  calm  as  a  mirror  under  the 
thin  haze  of  autumn.  As  the  canoe  swiftly 
passed  many  small  islands  which  the  boys 
had  already  explored,  gracefully  soaring  gulls 
followed  them  for  miles  without  moving  a 
wing. 

"If  we  had  any  food  to  throw  to  them  we'd 
soon  have  a  hundred  following  us, ' '  remarked 
Dan. 

Harry  wanted  to  know  why  they  weren't  all 
nearly  white,  and  Dan  told  him  that  the  gray 
ish-brown  ones  were  the  young  of  the  sea 
son. 

"They  fly  almost  as  gracefully  now  as  the 
old  ones,"  he  said,  "but  you  ought  to  see  the 
youngsters  run  around  on  the  low  small  is 
lands  in  June  before  they  can  fly.  They  are 
funny-looking  chicks  then." 

In  the  middle  of  the  afternoon  they  reached 
Amygdaloid  Island,  where  the  eastern  end  of 


OF  THE  CHIPPEWA  165 

the  island  begins  to  be  cut  up  into  a  confusion 
of  long  narrow  peninsulas  and  outlying  is 
lands,  separated  by  a  maze  of  channels,  long 
narrow  bays  and  inlets.  The  bays  and  chan 
nels  are  from  a  few  rods  to  a  mile  wide  but 
run  from  one  to  ten  miles  in  length  and  the 
peninsulas,  islands,  and  headlands  and  necks 
which  they  separate  show  the  same  variation 
in  length  and  width.  It  would  be  difficult  to 
find  a  region  where  water  and  rock  and  wild 
forests  are  so  bewilderingly,  but  still  so  beau 
tifully  mixed  and  interlaced  as  they  are  at 
the  royal  island  of  Minong. 

The  boys  ran  about  two  miles  up  the  nar 
row  channel,  crossed  a  shallow  place  between 
two  islands  and  ran  back  a  mile  to  the  end  of 
a  bay  where  they  made  camp  for  the  night. 

"Wherever  Le  Noir  may  be,"  said  Dan,  "I 
know  he's  not  in  this  cove,  so  we  shall  have 
as  fine  a  camp-fire  to-night  as  we  can  build; 
but  until  dark  we  must  explore. ' ' 

After  walking  half  a  mile  inland  they  came 
to  another  channel  only  a  few  rods  wide,  but 
at  least  two  miles  long. 


166  THE  SILVER  ISLAND 

"Now,"  remarked  Dan,  "I  have  the  lay  of 
the  land  here.  Beginning  at  the  open  lake 
there  is  Amygdaloid  Island,  five  miles  long 
and  half  a  mile  wide,  then  comes  the  long 
channel,  then  a  five-mile  peninsula,  then  the 
bay  on  which  we  camp,  then  this  long  ridge, 
and  here  in  front  of  us  is  the  narrow  fiord 
which  separates  us  from  the  mainland  of  the 
island. ' ' 

1  i  Let 's  swim  across ! ' '  urged  Harry.  "  It 's 
not  more  than  sixty  yards." 

Dan  put  his  hand  in  the  water.  "No,"  he 
said,  "we  mustn't  risk  it.  It's  too  cold;  we 
might  take  cramps. 

"I'll  tell  you  what  we'll  do.  Go  and  pull 
up  some  spruce  roots  for  ropes.  I'll  roll  a 
few  of  these  drift  logs  together  and  in  ten 
minutes  we'll  go  across  on  a  raft." 

Although  Dan  estimated  the  water  to  be 
from  twenty  to  thirty  feet  deep,  they  could 
see  clearly  the  rocks  and  green  algae  on  the 
bottom  and  schools  of  lake  trout  which  were 
swimming  about. 

The  main  part  of  the  island  showed  the 


OF  THE  CHIPPEWA  167 

same  character  as  the  necks  they  had  crossed. 
Much  of  the  grooved  and  striated,  brownish 
rock  was  entirely  bare,  but  from  the  scant 
patches  of  soil,  and  even  from  the  crevices 
of  the  rock,  grew  stunted  spruce,  birch,  pop 
lar,  and  mountain-ash,  while  many  shrubs 
like  shadbush,  choke-cherry  and  moose  maple 
helped  to  conceal  the  wild  barrenness  of  the 
rock. 

When  they  had  gone  scarcely  half  a  mile, 
they  came  unexpectedly  to  the  bank  of  a  small 
lake. 

"Well,  this  beats  me,"  exclaimed  Harry. 
"Here's  a  lake  on  the  island,  and  it's  a  mighty 
pretty  one  too." 

"Oh,  this  is  not  the  only  one,"  Dan  told 
him.  "Amigoosheb  told  me  there  were  more 
than  a  dozen  lakes  on  the  island.  He  said 
one  was  a  heap  big,  six  miles  long  with  a  big 
island  in  it.  The  Indians  call  it  Lake  Siski- 
wit  and  it  is  near  the  south  side  of  the  island. 
We'll  have  to  find  it  when  we  get  around 
there. ' ' 

While  they  were  sitting  down  for  a  few 


168  THE  SILVER  ISLAND 

minutes  some  large  animals  walked  into  the 
lake  to  drink. 

1  'Look  at  the  big  deer,"  said  Harry. 

"You're  off,  this  time,  Harry;  it's  a  cari 
bou.  Now  I  know  where  we  can  find  meat." 

After  they  had  returned  to  camp  Harry 
thought  it  was  the  wildest  and  most  beauti 
ful  camping-place  he  had  ever  seen. 

Before  them  lay  the  glassy  bay,  tinted  red 
and  orange  and  purple  by  the  changing  sunset 
sky.  On  both  shores  the  trees  and  rocks  were 
reflected  on  the  limpid  mirror,  a  flock  of  mer 
gansers  and  loons  played  and  splashed  about 
a  few  hundred  yards  away,  while  far  down 
the  bay  two  dark  islands  partly  screened  the 
view  but  still  allowed  the  eye  to  run  along  an 
open  lane  and  catch  a  glimpse  of  the  bound 
less  lake,  where,  far  away  toward  the  dark 
ening  east,  lake  and  sky  seemed  to  blend. 

And  in  this  manner  the  lads  continued  their 
exploration  day  after  day  and  week  after 
week.  No  cove,  no  island,  no  ridge  was 
passed.  For  ten  or  more  hours  a  day  their 
sharp  eyes  looked  for  the  little  island  under 


OF  THE  CHIPPEWA  169 

the  breast  of  the  Sitting  Crane.  Only  on 
Sundays  they  rested  quietly  in  camp.  They 
washed  and  mended  their  clothes  and  talked 
of  Father  and  Mother  and  Margaret  and  of 
their  friend  Amigoosheb  and  of  the  evil-faced 
Le  Noir. 

In  and  out  they  paddled  through  the  sinu 
ous  coves  and  around  the  finger-like  head 
lands  that  terminate  in  Lock  Point. 

They  explored  Duncan's  Bay  and  Tobin's 
Harbor,  they  paddled  up  and  down  the  twen 
ty-mile  channel  that  ends  in  the  beautiful  and 
well-sheltered  bight  of  Rock  Harbor.  They 
even  risked  their  frail  craft  six  miles  out  to 
sea  to  examine  the  big  hog's-back  of  Passage 
Island. 

As  the  weeks  passed  by  the  trees  and  shrubs 
shed  their  gold  and  crimson  autumn  foliage. 
Flocks  of  robins  came  and  feasted  for  a  few 
days  on  the  fiery  orange  fruit  of  the  moun 
tain-ash.  Then  the  flocks  arose  and  vanished 
to  the  south  shore  of  the  great  lake,  and  in 
their  wake  came  long  lines  of  Canada  geese 
and  flocks  of  ducks  who  only  used  the  Eoyal 


170  THE  SILVER  ISLAND 

Island  as  a  landmark  by  which  to  steer  their 
course  southward.  Still  later  the  shrill  cry  of 
flocks  of  snow  geese  was  heard  at  night  and 
loons  and  mergansers  from  the  far  north  as 
sembled  on  the  fish-teeming  coves  and  bays 
and  inland  lakes. 

The  boys  felt  that  winter  was  close  at  hand 
and  that  a  snowstorm  might  sweep  down  upon 
them  any  day.  But  their  work  was  not  done 
and  they  pursued  it  with  a  boyish  zeal  and 
relish;  for,  although  it  was  now  early  No 
vember,  they  had  not  found  Silver  Island  nor 
had  they  seen  either  the  canoe  or  the  camp- 
fire  smoke  of  Le  Noir. 

They  were  now  exploring  the  great  Siski- 
wit  Bay,  a  grand  body  of  water  between  the 
south  shore  of  Isle  Boyale  and  the  chain  of 
narrow,  outlying,  rocky  ridges  of  the.  Siski- 
wit  Islands,  a  bay  twenty  miles  long  and  six 
miles  wide. 

Most  of  the  loons  and  mergansers  had  dis 
appeared;  only  the  great  herring-gulls,  who 
raise  their  young  and  make  their  summer 


OF  THE  CHIPPEWA  171 

homes  on  the  Siskiwit  Islands,  were  still  pres 
ent  in  large  numbers. 

"What  do  you  say,  little  brother?"  asked 
Dan,  one  forenoon  as  they  pulled  into  a  small 
shallow  bay  at  Fisherman's  Point  after 
rounding  the  long  shore  of  Siskiwit  Bay; 
11  shall  we  take  a  chance  on  exploring  that 
long  chain  of  islands  or  shall  we  make  a  halt 
and  find  a  good  place  for  winter  quarters? 
I  feel  that  the  autumn  snowstorms  may  catch 
us  now  almost  any  day,  and  it's  a  cinch  now 
that  we  shall  have  to  winter  somewhere  in  the 
wild  forest  of  Minong." 

* '  Take  a  chance  on  the  Siskiwits,  Dan.  "We 
can  get  back  to  Minong  in  some  way. ' ' 

"A  game  kid  you  are,  Harry!  We'll  try 
it  then.  I  see  plenty  of  timber  on  the  Siski 
wits  so  we  won't  suffer  for  want  of  fuel  if  we 
are  marooned.  And  if  we  are  caught  we'll 
wait  until  the  bay  freezes  over  and  sled  our 
canoe  across  the  ice  to  the  mainland  of  Isle 
Eoyale,  for  that  big  sheltered  bay  will  surely 
freeze  over  solid." 


CHAPTEE  XXI 

IN   A   NOETHEASTEE    ON    THE    SISKIWITS 

THE  swells  ran  dangerously  high  in  the 
open  lake  when  the  brothers  headed 
their  canoe  boldly  northeastward  in 
the  direction  of  the  Siskiwit  Islands,  which, 
beginning  a  few  miles  from  Fisherman's 
Point,  ran  out  into  the  open  lake  for  twelve 
miles,  like  the  backs  of  gigantic,  stranded 
whales. 

To  avoid  the  dangerous  swells,  they  took 
what  steamboat  men  nowadays  call  the  inside 
passage,  but  so  expert  had  they  become  with 
the  paddles  and  so  well  they  knew  the  moods 
and  dangers  of  the  great  fresh-water  sea  that 
they  calmly  passed  over  waves  and  swells 
which  in  the  beginning  of  their  trip  they  had 
avoided  under  fear  of  death. 

"What  can  live  on  these  whaleback  islands, 
anyhow?"  Harry  wondered. 

172 


THE  SILVER  ISLAND  173 

"Not  a  thing  as  far  as  I  can  judge,  but 
gulls,"  suggested  Dan.  "I  don't  think  a 
single  four-footed  creature  lives  on  the  whole 
chain,  not  even  the  omnipresent  wood-mice. 

"They're  about  the  most  storm-swept 
chain  I  ever  set  eyes  on  and  if  they  weren't 
well  wooded  in  spite  of  being  so  low  and  nar 
row,  I'd  be  afraid,  at  this  time  of  the  year, 
to  stay  overnight  on  them." 

About  ten  miles  from  Fisherman's  Point, 
on  an  island  nameless  even  to  this  day,  the 
brothers  made  their  camp. 

Dan  selected  for  a  camp-site  a  little  spot 
surrounded  by  scrubby  spruce  and  pine,  and 
with  just  enough  soil  on  it  to  hold  the  tent 
stakes. 

"I  don't  like  this  weather  much,"  he  re 
marked,  as  they  went  to  bed  with  the  usual 
back-log  fire  throwing  good  cheer  into  their 
tent  in  the  otherwise  oppressive  solitude  of 
a  desolate  and  uninhabitable  island. 

' '  What 's  wrong  with  the  weather  ?  I  think 
it's  fine;  it  feels  almost  like  spring,"  Harry 
voiced  his  idea  of  it. 


174  THE  SILVEK  ISLAND 

"That's  just  it.  It's  too  warm  for  this 
season.  A  clear  frosty  sky  and  a  cutting 
wind  from  the  northwest  would  suit  me  much 
better  than  these  clouds  and  the  damp  breeze 
coming  from  the  northeast.  It  feels  like  rain. 
And  if  it  begins  to  rain  from  those  quarters, 
look  out  for  snow  before  the  rain  is  two  hours 
old." 

It  was  some  time  after  midnight  when  Dan 
awoke,  and  the  rain  was  pattering  down  in 
large  drops  on  the  tent,  and  a  fresh  north 
easter  played  with  a  foreboding  soughing 
over  the  scrubby  pines  and  spruces. 

Dan  arose  and  drove  down  every  tent  stake, 
put  some  dry  wood  in  the  tent  and  replen 
ished  the  fire. 

In  the  morning  the  snow  was  coming  down 
thick,  and  was  so  soft  and  sticky  that  it  clung 
to  the  trees  and  bushes,  bending  them  down 
under  the  heavy  weight.  From  the  tent  the 
boys  had  to  scrape  it  because  the  soggy  mass 
threatened  to  break  the  tent  rope.  The  fire 
was  out ;  in  fact  it  was  buried  under  a  layer 
of  wet  snow. 


OF  THE  CHIPPEWA  175 

"Jerusalem!"  cried  Dan,  as  he  kicked  the 
snow  from  the  fireplace  and  uncovered  the 
wood  he  had  piled  up;  "there's  a  foot  of  snow 
on  the  island,  and  it's  still  coming  down  as 
if  the  clouds  themselves  were  falling! 

* '  Get  busy,  Harry,  and  pile  up  some  wood ; 
we'll  have  a  time  getting  fuel  when  all  this 
mush  freezes  to  solid  ice." 

After  an  hour's  lively  chopping  on  the  part 
of  Dan,  and  carrying  and  piling  up  on  the 
part  of  Harry,  Dan  stopped  work  and  made 
breakfast. 

"I  have  an  appetite  now,"  he  remarked. 
"We  have  wood  enough  for  three  days,  so  let 
her  blow  and  snow,  we'll  be  comfortable." 

But  about  the  comfort,  he  was  much  mis 
taken.  By  noon  it  had  turned  bitter  cold  and 
the  wind  was  blowing  a  gale.  The  snow, 
frozen  to  lumps  and  layers  of  ice,  broke  down 
almost  every  tree  on  the  island.  With  the 
rush  of  the  storm  and  the  roar  of  the  breakers 
mingled  the  cracking  and  crashing  of  the 
trees,  as  if  an  earthquake  were  convulsing  the 
rocky  backbone  of  the  ridge. 


176  THE  SILVEE  ISLAND 

Higher  and  higher  rolled  and  foamed  the 
waves.  The  spray  began  to  fly  among  the 
tree  tops,  and  by  night  the  whole  island  was 
awash  with  the  splash  of  great  breakers  that 
come  rolling,  rolling  in  from  the  black  waste 
of  the  storm-lashed  sea. 

"Good  Lord,  Dan!"  exclaimed  Harry;  "if 
you  weren't  here  I'd  think  the  world  was  com 
ing  down." 

"I  couldn't  hold  it,"  retorted  Dan;  "but 
this  is  the  worst  racket  I've  ever  been  in.  I 
really  believe  our  canoe  would  blow  or  wash 
away  if  I  hadn't  piled  a  lot  of  rocks  on  top 
of  it." 

About  midnight  the  floor  of  the  tent  became 
flooded,  and  the  boys  had  to  sit  on  a  pile  of 
brush.  Again  and  again  a  splash  from  a 
breaker  dashed  against  the  tent  and  poured 
streams  of  ice-cold  water  on  the  crouching 
boys.  At  first  their  closely  wrapped  and 
doubly-folded  blankets  protected  them,  but  be 
fore  long  there  was  no  dry  piece  of  cloth  or 
blanket  in  the  tent. 
Their  camp-fire  had  been  drowned  out  hours 


OF  THE  CHIPPEWA  177 

ago.  All  night  they  crouched  on  their  little 
hummock  of  brush,  wet  to  their  skins  and  shiv 
ering  with  cold,  trying  to  dodge  the  drench 
ing,  icy  splashes  which  could  not  be  dodged. 

When,  after  a  sheer  endless  wait  in  dark 
ness,  the  gray  of  dawn  came,  the  lads  were 
glad  to  stretch  their  cramped  legs  and  face 
the  uproar  in  the  open. 

Each  grabbed  an  ax  and  began  to  chop 
wildly  to  start  the  blood  circulating  through 
his  half -frozen  body.  Then  they  floundered 
about  through  two  feet  of  snow  and  slush  un 
til  they  found  a  spot  high  enough  to  build 
a  roaring  fire  and  make  breakfast. 

' '  Thanks  to  the  good  Lord ! ' '  Dan  exclaimed 
as  if  in  prayer,  ''that  we  lived  through  this 
awful  night.  I  surely  thought  for  awhile  we 
would  have  to  tie  ourselves  to  a  tree  in  order 
not  to  be  blown  into  the  lake." 

When  their  spirits  had  been  revived  by  hot 
tea  and  meat,  and  the  blazing  fire  had  dried 
and  warmed  them,  they  began  to  enjoy  the 
grandeur  of  the  storm. 

Clouds  of  snow  were  still  whipped  over  the 


178  THE  SILVEB  ISLAND 

billows  before  the  gale,  and  great  waves  like 
mountain  ridges  rolled  and  rolled  down  the 
rocky  slopes  of  the  island  and  lifted  and 
pushed  the  great  slabs  of  brown  rock  as  if 
they  were  chips  of  wood. 

"Well,  we  lived  through  this,  little 
brother!"  Dan  said  as  they  returned  to  the 
fire  from  a  walk  around  the  island;  "but  win 
ter  is  upon  us  in  dead  earnest.  We  can't 
stay  here,  and  how  we  '11  ever  get  back  to  the 
main  island,  I  don't  know." 


CHAPTER  XXII 

ESCAPING    FROM    THE    SISKIWITS 

WINTER  certainly  had  begun  in 
earnest.  Even  after  the  furious 
gale  had  died  down,  the  sea  con 
tinued  to  run  so  high  that  no  frail  bark  canoe 
could  have  lived  in  it,  and  before  the  danger 
ous  swells  from  the  northeast  died  down,  the 
boisterous  winds  blew  from  another  quarter. 

For  two  weeks  the  boys  were  marooned  on 
the  Siskiwits,  and  although  a  steady  cold 
northwester  followed  the  changeable  winds, 
there  was  no  prospect  of  an  early  escape. 

From  the  mainland  of  Isle  Royale,  the  boys 
could  see  the  ice  grow  out  into  the  bay,  but 
on  the  rocky  slopes  of  the  Siskiwits,  exposed 
to  the  wind,  no  ice  formed,  for  here  the  waves 
and  breakers  thundered  and  rolled  and 
seethed  and  splashed,  day  and  night,  week  in 
and  week  out,  with  a  deafening  monotony 

179 


180  THE  SILVER  ISLAND 

which  almost  made  the  boys  despair  of  ever 
getting  away. 

Their  supplies  began  to  run  low.  To  fish 
in  the  high  running  sea  was  impossible,  even 
if  the  fish  had  not  avoided  the  breakers  near 
shore.  On  the  island  itself,  not  a  trace  of  any 
living  thing  was  to  be  found.  No  sign  of 
rabbit,  fox  or  weasel;  not  even  the  track  of 
a  wood-mouse.  The  only  living  thing  besides 
themselves  and  Waggles  were  small  flocks  of 
screaming,  shrieking  gulls,  whose  presence 
only  added  to  the  weird  desolation  and  who 
seemed  to  utter  their  piercing  cries  in  mock 
ery  of  the  lads'  helplessness. 

At  last,  after  a  period  of  nearly  three  weeks 
of  storm,  there  came  a  spell  of  calm  and  very 
cold  weather,  and  in  one  intensely  cold  night 
the  mass  of  slush  and  the  drifting  and  grind 
ing  thin  cakes  of  ice  were  cemented  together 
and  in  the  morning  a  fringe  of  solid  ice,  a 
quarter  of  a  mile  wide,  lined  the  north  shore 
of  the  Siskiwits. 

' '  Good  luck,  at  last ! ' '  cried  Dan,  when  he 
looked  at  the  lake  in  the  morning.  "To-day 


OF  THE  CHIPPEWA  181 

we  leave  these  beastly  whalebacks ;  the  ice  is 
frozen  solid  to  the  shore  and  the  bay  is 
calm. ' ' 

The  lads  were  much  in  doubt  whether  they 
should  drag  their  canoe  over  the  ice  along 
shore,  or  whether  they  should  attempt  to 
launch  the  craft  and  paddle  straight  across 
the  bay  toward  the  outlet  of  Siskiwit  Lake. 

Harry  was  in  favor  of  trying  the  water 
route.  "It's  a  good  twenty  miles  around  on 
the  ice,  and  it  would  take  us  all  day,"  he 
urged,  in  objection  to  the  ice  route. 

But  Dan,  who  had  examined  the  ice,  knew 
that  half-way  to  the  open  water  they  would 
break  through,  and  he  was  afraid  that  the 
sharp  edges  of  the  thin  ice  would  rip  their 
canoe. 

"And  if  that  happens  we  might  lose  our 
canoe  and  our  whole  outfit  and  then  we  would 
be  in  a  fine  mess.  We  would  have  to  stay 
until  the  birch  bark  peels  in  June,  and  I  am 
not  at  all  sure  that  we  could  find  birches  large 
enough  for  a  canoe.  No,  the  ice  route  is  the 
only  safe  one." 


182  THE  SILVEK  ISLAND 

To  make  some  kind  of  a  sled  for  their  canoe 
was  somewhat  of  a  problem.  They  had  no 
nails,  and  their  only  large  cutting  tools  were 
an  ax  and  a  hatchet. 

They  cut  four  short  spruce  logs  into  the 
right  shape  for  sleigh  runners  for  two  short 
sleighs.  The  runners  of  each  sleigh  were 
connected  by  two  crosspieces.  They  burnt 
holes  through  the  crosspieces  and  into  the 
runners  by  using  their  ramrod  made  red  hot 
in  a  good  fire.  Then  they  drove  stout  wooden 
pegs  through  the  crosspieces  and  into  the  run 
ners  and  the  sleighs  were  ready  for  travel. 

Sleighing  their  canoe  and  equipment  over 
the  ice  did  not  prove  to  be  traveling  as  fast 
as  they  had  expected.  Near  the  shore  the 
ice  was  too  rough  and  farther  out  where  it 
was  smooth  they  had  to  be  very  careful. 

When  night  came  they  had  only  made  about 
ten  miles,  and  they  made  camp  on  a  shallow 
and  well-sheltered  bay  at  Fisherman's  Point 
where  the  ice  was  thick  and  as  smooth  as 
glass. 

" How's  that  for  a  skating  pond?"  asked 


OF  THE  CHIPPEWA  183 

Dan  as  he  pointed  to  the  smooth  glittering 
surface. 

" I'm  so  dog  tired,  Dan,"  Harry  answered, 
"that  I  don't  care  to  look  at  it.  I've  been 
thinking  that  I'd  make  a  pretty  bum  arctic 
traveler. ' ' 

"You'll  feel  better,  kid,  after  you  pour 
some  hot  tea  into  your  stomach." 

Dan  made  camp  in  a  hurry  as  if  he  had 
something  on  his  mind. 

"Fix  up  the  grub,  cookee,"  he  then  called 
to  Harry  as  he  strode  away.  "I'm  going  to 
take  a  squint  at  the  scenery  from  yonder  high 
ridge.  I'll  be  back  pretty  quick." 

"You  can  squint  at  the  scenery  or  smell  at 
it, ' '  grumbled  Harry  to  himself.  "  He 's  been 
staring  at  the  scenery  all  day;  half  the  time 
he  didn't  hear  what  I  was  saying.  I  bet  he's 
been  thinking  of  that  blue-eyed  girl  of  his  at 
Detroit. 

"Waggles,  you  fool  pup,  get  out  of  my  way ! 
No  wonder  you're  spry  after  riding  in  the 
canoe  and  sleeping  under  the  blanket  all  day. 
Some  hot  tea  and  venison  for  me  and  then 


184  THE  SILVER  ISLAND 

under  the  blankets !  You  and  Dan  can  have 
my  share  of  the  scenery!" 

"I  couldn't  see  a  thing,"  Dan  remarked  on 
returning. 

"What  were  you  trying  to  see  anyhow  in 
this  God-forsaken  desert?" 

"What  am  I  trying  to  see,  you  grouchy 
kid?  I've  been  trying  to  see  smoke,  Le 
Noir's  smoke!" 

"Oh,  I  thought  you  were  dreaming  of — " 

"If  he's  on  the  island,  and  I  think  he  is," 
Dan  continued  without  apparently  catching 
Harry's  thought,  "he  cannot  be  far  from  this 
bay  unless  he  has  passed  us  or  followed  us 
all  this  time  without  our  once  getting  sight 
of  him. 

"I've  peeled  my  eyes  for  him  almost  as 
much  as  for  Silver  Island,  but  never  a  trace 
have  I  seen  of  the  dark-faced  scoundrel ! 

"But  I  have  a  feeling  that  he  is  not  many 
miles  away  from  this  point. ' ' 

"And  what  are  you  going  to  do  with  him  if 
you  find  him?" 

' '  Bless  your  soul,  Harry,  if  I  only  knew !     I 


OF  THE  CHIPPEWA  185 

hope  we  won't  meet  him,  but  I  just  feel  that 
some  day  I'll  see  the  smoke  of  his  camp-fire 
and  then,  we'll  have  to  get  him  or  he'll  get 
us!" 

On  the  second  day  the  boys  found  smooth 
and  safe  ice  and  made  such  good  time  that 
now  Waggles  was  given  a  ride,  because  Harry 
claimed  Waggles  couldn't  run  on  smooth  ice. 

About  noon  the  boys  reached  a  stream  of 
considerable  size  which  tumbled  into  the  lake 
through  a  tangle  of  alder,  willows  and  moose 
maple. 

The  lads  stopped  to  explore. 

"Dan!"  cried  Harry,  "this  is  sure  the 
place  for  winter  quarters ;  lots  of  fish  in  this 
stream!  By  George,  they're  trout!  See 
them  run.  I  '11  go  fishing  every  day ! ' ' 

Half  an  hour's  hard  work  upstream  brought 
the  boys  through  deep  snow  and  a  tangle  of 
brush  to  the  shore  of  a  large  lake,  from  which 
the  creek  was  the  outlet  and  which  was  still 
open  in  the  middle. 

' '  Siskiwit  Lake ! ' '  Dan  exclaimed.  '  *  Plenty 
of  wood  and  shelter,  good  place  from  which 


186  THE  SILVER  ISLAND 

to  make  long  and  short  trips,  running  water 
all  the  time,  no  fooling  with  melting  ice  or 
snow  or  chopping  holes  through  thick  ice. 
Best  camping-place  I  ever  saw,  Harry. 
" Here's  where  we  den  up  for  the  winter." 


CHAPTER  XXIH 

SNOWED    IN 

DENNING  up  for  the  winter  on  the 
rocky  ribs  of  Isle  Eoyale,  proved, 
however,  not  as  simple  a  problem 
as  it  might  have  been  in  the  clay  banks  of  the 
Missouri. 

A  dugout  would  have  been  warm  and  easy 
to  build  had  there  been  any  clay  or  sand  into 
which  to  dig.  Building  a  small  cabin  of  flat 
rocks  was  another  plan  they  had  thought  of 
a  month  ago,  but  now  every  suitable  rock  was 
frozen  fast  to  the  ground  and  covered  with 
two  feet  of  snow. 

When  they  had  rejected  both  the  dugout 
and  the  stone  cabin,  Harry  suggested  that  a 
log  cabin  with  a  fireplace  would  make  a  mighty 
cozy  winter  camp. 

"It  certainly  would  be  the  thing!"  Dan 

187 


188  THE  SILVER  ISLAND 

assented,  "if  it  wouldn't  take  us  a  month  to 
build  it." 

"Oh,  shucks,  Dan!"  Harry  asserted.  "In 
a  week  my  grandmother  could  build  a  log 
cabin,  and  you  and  I  can  do  it  in  a  day. ' ' 

"You?  You  couldn't  build  a  dog  house  in 
a  day  without  getting  all  tired  out  about  ten 
times!  As  for  building  a  decent  log  cabin, 
we  would  need  about  seventy-five  logs  ten 
feet  long  and  six  inches  thick.  We  'd  have  to 
drag  or  carry  them  from  that  spruce  swamp  a 
quarter  of  a  mile  east,  and  with  cutting  fire 
wood  and  doing  other  camp  work,  it  would 
take  us  a  month. 

"Then  you  forget,  Harry,  that  our  meat 
will  last  us  just  about  three  days  more,  and 
we  have  to  do  some  hunting  mighty  soon  or 
starve.  If  we  could  live  on  brush  and  bark 
like  moose,  we  might  build  a  cabin,  but  as  it 
is,  we  can't;  it  would  take  us  a  month." 

The  first  day  of  their  encampment  was  clear 
and  calm,  and  Dan  took  his  gun  and  started 
out  after  rabbits  because  he  was  afraid  that  a 


OF  THE  CHIPPEWA  189 

spell  of  stormy  weather  might  make  hunting 
impossible. 

Harry  was  to  fish  for  trout,  but  the  boys 
found  to  their  dismay  that  they  had  lost  every 
hook  in  the  storm  on  the  Siskiwits. 

However,  the  youthful  fisherman  was  not 
baffled.  He  tied  small  pieces  of  meat  to  a 
string  and  was  able  to  pull  out  the  fish  after 
they  had  entirely  swallowed  the  bait.  Others 
he  yanked  out  by  letting  them  get  a  good  hold 
of  a  piece  of  red  flannel.  These  trout  in  Sis- 
kiwit  Creek  had  perhaps  never  seen  a  human 
fisherman.  They  were  entirely  fearless,  and 
bit  so  greedily  on  Harry's  meat  balls  and 
were  so  curious  about  the  little  patches  of 
bright  red  flannel  that  within  half  a  day 
Harry  had  caught  half  a  hundred  fine  fish 
weighing  from  one  to  two  pounds  apiece. 

"I  bet  I'll  beat  Dan  in  bringing  in  meat," 
he  thought  to  himself.  But  when  he  saw 
Dan  coming  along  the  lake  shore  from  the 
west,  he  felt  less  sure  about  having  secured 
the  larger  amount  of  meat,  for  Dan  dropped 


190  THE  SILVER  ISLAND 

more  than  a  dozen  big  white  rabbits  near  the 
camp-fire. 

"Good  gracious!"  he  exclaimed;  "I  could 
hardly  carry  that  load  to  camp !  I  never  saw 
so  many  rabbits.  I  just  walked  along  the 
edge  of  the  woods  and  picked  them  off  as  they 
came  out  on  the  ice.  All  the  rabbits  on  this 
neck  of  land  seemed  to  be  moving  across  the 
lake.  I  think  I  saw  a  hundred  of  them  away 
out  on  the  ice,  hopping  along  toward  the  north 
shore  of  Siskiwit  Lake. 

"I've  heard  about  these  snowshoe  rabbits 
migrating,  but  I  never  saw  it  before. ' ' 

"What  do  you  suppose  makes  them  hike 
out?"  Harry  asked. 

Dan  hardly  knew.  Maybe  they  had  eaten 
up  many  of  their  food  bushes  on  the  neck. 
While  cedar  and  hazel,  rose  bushes  and  al 
most  everything  else,  except  spruce,  alder  and 
pine,  had  been  cut  and  barked  and  nibbled. 
Or  perhaps  they  knew  by  instinct  or  experi 
ence  that  the  northerly  winds  would  blow  so 
much  snow  from  the  lake  into  the  woods  that 
much  of  their  food  brush  would  be  buried; 


OF  THE  CHIPPEWA  191 

or,  it  maybe,  they  just  followed  an  instinct 
to  migrate  from  one  part  of  the  woods  to  an 
other,  and  naturally  they  all  started  on  the 
first  fine  day. 

"Why,  Harry!  It  wasn't  really  hunting, 
it  was  just  getting  meat.  I  could  have  hit 
some  of  them  with  a  club,  so  tame  they  were, 
but  I'm  powerful  glad  we  have  both  the  rab 
bits  and  the  fish ;  now  we  can  build  our  wig 
wam.  ' ' 

While  in  quest  of  the  rabbits,  Dan  had 
thought  out  a  plan  for  a  winter  cabin. 

The  boys  selected  a  well-sheltered  spot 
where  the  soil  was  thick  enough  to  drive  poles 
into  the  ground.  Here  they  first  set  up  their 
tent,  and  then  they  began  to  build  a  brush 
cabin  around  it  and  over  it,  so  as  to  have  just 
enough  space  for  a  man  to  walk  around  the 
tent.  They  built  a  framework  of  upright 
poles  and  then  wove  spruce  boughs  among 
the  poles.  The  slanting  roof  was  simply  a 
spruce  thatch,  and  was  held  in  place  by  sev 
eral  poles  firmly  tied  over  it. 

The  whole  was  the  work  of  one  day  and  the 


192  THE  SILVER  ISLAND 

boys  felt  quite  proud  of  it.  In  the  evening 
when  the  light  and  heat  of  their  customary 
back-log  fire  was  caught  inside  the  tent  and 
they  were  warm  and  comfortable,  Harry  said 
it  would  be  bully  to  live  in  this  brush  camp 
and  he  didn't  care  now  how  much  it  snowed 
and  how  cold  it  got. 

The  brush  camp,  of  course,  needed  a  con 
stant  fire  to  keep  it  warm,  and  in  order  to 
keep  out  the  northerly  winds  entirely  the  boys 
piled  blocks  of  snow  outside  the  brush,  thus 
making  the  camp  as  impenetrable  to  wind  as 
a  brick  wall. 

But  through  the  roof  a  good  deal  of  heat 
was  still  escaping,  and  the  boys  conceived  the 
idea  of  covering  the  roof  with  snow.  This 
plan  did  not  work  out  as  well  as  they  had 
expected,  for  when  on  mild  days  they  also  had 
a  good  fire  going,  some  of  the  snow  melted 
and  the  roof  began  to  leak. 

'  *  That  plan 's  no  good, ' '  said  Dan.  ' '  When 
the  spring  thaws  begin,  that  roof  will  be  leak 
ing  all  the  time  and  everything  will  get  wet 
and  mussed  and  we'll  have  to  move  our  tent 


OF  THE  CHIPPEWA  193 

out  of  the  brush  cabin  just  when  we  want 
to  stay  in  it  the  most." 

"But  what  can  we  do?"  Harry  wondered. 
"Bark  doesn't  peel  now,  there  are  no  deer 
or  moose  on  the  island,  and  the  Lord  only 
knows  where  the  caribou  are.  What  about 
rabbit  skins!" 

"You  ought  to  know,  Harry,  that  they're 
no  good  for  covering  a  roof.  They're  both 
too  small  and  too  thin  and  soft. 

"I  know  what  will  do  it.  Lynx  will.  And 
I  think  there  are  plenty  of  them  on  the  island. 
I  saw  several  tracks  when  I  was  after  the 
rabbits." 

Had  Dan  seen  any  of  the  animals,  Harry 
asked  eagerly.  Why  hadn't  he  told  about 
them? 

"No,  I  didn't,"  Dan  continued.  "You 
seldom  see  the  big  fierce  cats,  although  they 
may  be  following  your  tracks  as  they  often 
do. 

"Eight  or  ten  lynx  skins  spread  over  that 
brush  roof  would  keep  out  the  rain  as  if  it 
were  shingled. 


194  THE  SILVER  ISLAND 

"We'll  fix  up  our  snowshoes  and  cut  out  a 
trail  for  lynx.  Catching  a  bunch  of  lynx  is 
our  next  piece  of  work,  Harry. " 


CHAPTER  XXIV 

THE   SOLITUDE   OF   A   LONG  WINTER 

AS  soon  as  the  boys  had  put  their 
snowshoes  in  working  order,  they 
began  to  cut  a  trail  for  their  lynx 
traps,  of  which  they  had  half  a  dozen. 

Dan  thought  it  would  be  useless  to  set  the 
traps  closer  than  at  intervals  of  half  a  mile, 
so  they  had  to  cut  a  trail  three  miles  long. 

They  made  use  of  all  small  natural  open 
ings  along  the  western  end  of  Siskiwit  Lake, 
then  they  followed  a  small  stream  where  rab 
bit  trails  were  numerous  and  where  they 
found  many  signs  and  tracks  of  lynx.  After 
following  the  stream  for  about  a  mile,  Dan 
concluded,  as  he  looked  over  the  lay  of  the 
land,  "We  will  turn  north  and  circle  back  to 
the  lake.  In  this  way  any  lynx  heading  for 
rabbit  grounds  at  the  west  end  of  the  lake  is 
bound  to  strike  the  trail." 

195 


196  THE  SILVER  ISLAND 

To  cut  out  this  three-mile  trail  so  that  they 
could  freely  pass  over  it  on  snowshoes  was 
the  most  arduous  piece  of  work  they  had  ever 
undertaken. 

The  fall  of  sticky  snow,  followed  by  the 
fierce  November  gale,  had  caused  a  destruc 
tion  in  the  woods  the  like  of  which  Dan  had 
never  seen  before.  Large  and  old  spruces 
and  balsam-firs  lay  broken  down  in  the  brush, 
younger  and  more  supple  trees  were  bent  like 
bows  and  their  crowns  were  frozen  fast  in 
the  hard  snow.  The  smaller  brush  like  alder, 
moose  maple  and  willows  had  been  matted 
into  impenetrable  tangles  or  was  completely 
buried  under  the  frozen  crust.  On  the  whole 
stretch  of  three  miles  an  almost  endless 
amount  of  chopping  had  to  be  done.  It  would 
have  been  easy  to  set  the  traps  along  the  open 
shore,  but  it  would  also  have  been  useless, 
for  as  Dan  well  knew,  the  furtive  lynx  hunts 
silently,  like  a  gray-brown  shadow,  along  the 
game  trails  of  the  dense  forest. 

It  was  near  Christmas  time,  when  at  last 
the  trail  was  cut  and  the  traps  set  out. 


OF  THE  CHIPPEWA  197 

"Well,  brother,"  remarked  Dan,  as  both 
gazed  into  the  evening  camp-fire,  "you  and 
the  pup  will  have  no  end  of  time  to  sleep, 
from  now  on.  We  '11  be  camping  at  this  fire 
place  for  three  months  and  it  may  be  four 
months  before  the  ice  leaves  the  bay. 

"You  can  make  up  lost  sleep  and  you  can 
pile  up  sleep  ahead.  From  now  until  spring 
we  Ijave  nothing  to  do  but  visit  our  traps 
twice  a  week,  cut  enough  wood  for  the  camp- 
fire,  catch  fish  and  rabbits  and  eat  them  up 
and, — sleep,  and  then  sleep  some  more — 
that's  all. 

"The  snow  is  four  feet  deep  now,  and  if 
it  keeps  on  coming  down,  coming  until  April 
the  way  it  has  been  doing,  it  seems  to  me  it 
will  reach  the  tree-tops  and  take  all  summer 
to  melt  away. ' ' 

"What  do  you  suppose  Le  Noir  is  doing 
now?"  Harry  asked  abruptly. 

"Just  what  we  are  doing, — nothing;  denned 
up  like  a  bear,  just  as  we  are." 

"Don't  you  suppose  he'll  travel  around 
and  try  to  find  us?" 


198  THE  SILVER  ISLAND 

"Not  he.  This  lazy  life  just  suits  a  half- 
breed." 

< « Why  can 't  we  look  for  him  I  I  don 't  want 
to  just  sleep  and  eat  all  winter." 

"What's  the  use  of  looking  for  trouble!  I 
hope  we  may  never  see  him  again!"  was 
Dan's  emphatic  wish. 

"If  we  can't  keep  busy  we'll  start  some 
thing  new.  Go  on  a  caribou  hunt  or  go  ex 
ploring  the  interior  eastward." 

' '  That 's  fine,  a  caribou  hunt, ' '  cried  Harry. 
"It  would  be  great.  Let's  do  it  soon!  And 
why  can't  we  make  some  trips  westward  also 
if  we  have  so  much  time?" 

"I'll  tell  you  why  not,"  Dan  replied  with 
a  gleam  in  his  eyes.  "It's  just  as  well  if  we 
don't  meet  our  friend,  Le  Noir,  until  later. 
He  wouldn't  be  a  welcome  guest  at  our  Christ 
mas  dinner." 

The  following  day  as  the  boys  leisurely  put 
a  few  finishing  touches  on  their  camp,  they 
felt  for  the  first  time  the  solitude  of  their 
winter  camp.  So  completely  cut  off  were 
they  in  the  wild  forests  of  Minong  that  they 


OF  THE  CHIPPEWA  199 

could  not  even  send  a  message  to  any  other 
human  being.  It  seemed  as  if  they  were 
alone  in  the  world.  No  human  eye  could  see 
their  camp-fire,  their  voices  could  reach  no  hu 
man  ear;  none  but  God  in  heaven  could  hear 
their  prayer  if  want  and  distress  should  be 
set  them. 

It  snowed  almost  incessantly.  To-day  the 
white  crystals  came  down  as  a  fine  powder 
sifted  from  the  clouds ;  the  next  day  they  came 
in  rolling,  billowing  masses,  driven  across 
Lake  Siskiwit  by  a  roaring  northwester. 
And  when  the  wind  veered  around  to  the 
northeast,  it  seemed  as  if  the  very  blankets 
of  the  arctic  snows  were  being  spread  over 
the  forests  and  rocks  of  Minong. 

"The  snow  will  surely  reach  the  tree  tops," 
mused  little  Harry  as  he  sat  alone  and  looked 
wistfully  into  the  solitude,  while  Dan  had 
gone  on  a  brief  hunting  trip.  And  in  the 
neck  of  the  woods  between  Siskiwit  Lake  and 
Lake  Superior  the  great  snowdrifts  which 
rolled  across  the  ice  of  Lake  Siskiwit  did  be 
gin  to  reach  the  tops  of  the  small  mountain- 


200  THE  SILVER  ISLAND 

ash  trees  on  which  only  two  months  ago 
flocks  of  merrily  calling  robins  had  feasted; 
only  the  topmost  sprays  protruded,  like  brown 
fingers,  from  the  white  drifts.  Nature's 
shrubbery  of  scarlet  kinnikinic,  brown  hazel, 
and  alder,  willow  and  glossy  moose  maple 
was  completely  buried  out  of  sight.  Only 
the  dark  green  spires  of  the  spruces,  the 
straight  boles  of  the  tamaracks,  hung  with 
the  loose  tracery  of  leafless  branches,  and  the 
white  trunks  of  old  birches  dividing  into 
a  fine  spray  of  pendant  brown  whipcords 
seemed  determined  to  defy  the  growing  height 
of  the  snowdrifts. 

And  how  different  the  sounds  that  broke 
the  silence  of  the  winter  solitude,  from  those 
which  enliven  even  the  wildest  forests  in  sum 
mer! 

The  roaring  waves  lay  silent,  but  through 
the  long  winter  nights  reverberated  the  thun 
der  of  the  ice,  as  long  running  cracks  and 
crevices  formed  in  the  thickening  sheets  of 
both  Superior  and  Siskiwit ;  the  sound  seem- 


OF  THE  CHIPPEWA  201 

ingly  coming  from  everywhere  and  nowhere 
like  the  echoes  from  distant  artillery. 

Whenever  the  winds  ceased  sweeping 
through  the  tree-tops,  the  music  of  the  creek 
became  plainly  audible,  as  its  waters  leaped 
and  surged  babbling  and  gurgling  over  rocks 
and  boulders  from  Siskiwit  to  Superior. 

The  gulls  were  gone.  Now  and  then  a  flock 
of  tiny  trilling  chickadees  carefully  searched 
through  the  tree-tops  as  if  they  had  lost  some 
thing  very  valuable;  or  a  flock  of  beautiful 
red  crossbills,  chirping  contentedly,  fed  on 
the  seeds  of  spruces  and  balsams  which  they 
cut  out  of  the  cones  with  their  queer  scissors- 
like  bills.  The  hammering  of  the  great  black 
log-cock  often  resounded  from  the  dead  tree 
trunks,  and  almost  every  night  the  deep  gut 
tural  hoot  of  big  owls  broke  the  silence  of  the 
forest,  but  all  these  sights  and  sounds  only 
deepened  the  feeling  of  solitude  which  often 
sorely  tempted  Harry  to  cry  with  homesick 
ness  when  he  was  left  alone  in  the  cabin. 

However,  there  was  no  lack  of  work  and 


202  THE  SILVER  ISLAND 

exercise.  Two  days  a  week  the  boys  put  in 
visiting  their  traps  on  the  three-mile  trail,  an 
other  two  days  were  spent  in  cutting  fire 
wood  and  carrying  or  dragging  it  to  camp. 
One  day  was  needed  for  hunting  rabbits, 
grouse  and  spruce  hens  and  for  fishing,  and 
Saturdays  they  went  exploring  the  shores  and 
neighborhood  of  the  lake. 

After  a  week  of  hard  exercise  in  the  cold 
crisp  air,  both  enjoyed  Sunday  as  a  day  of 
rest,  when  they  had  time  to  read  from  Cap 
tain  Mayne  Reid's  "Boy  Voyageurs,"  the 
only  book  they  had  in  camp.  Tired  of  read 
ing,  they  talked  about  home  and  speculated 
on  the  whereabouts  of  Le  Noir  and  the  loca 
tion  of  Silver  Island. 

Although  they  visited  the  high  ridges  west 
of  Lake  Siskiwit  several  times,  and  strained 
their  eyes  to  discover  the  smoke  of  Le  Noir's 
camp-fire,  they  never  beheld  any  sign  of  him. 
As  far  as  they  could  tell  from,  what  they  saw 
and  heard,  they  were  the  only  human  beings 
on  the  island. 

An  incident  on  one  of  their  visits  to  their 


OF  THE  CHIPPEWA  203 

traps  nearly  proved  fatal  to  their  whole  ex 
pedition. 

Dan,  in  order  to  save  ammunition,  tried  to 
kill  a  big  captured  lynx  with  a  club.  In  this 
attempt  he  ventured  too  close  to  the  mad 
dened  beast,  which  sprang  at  him  ferociously 
and  with  its  steel-like  claws  cut  four  deep 
gashes  in  his  knee. 

For  awhile  both  lads  thought  Dan  would 
bleed  to  death.  Only  by  cooling  the  wounds 
with  snow,  bandaging  the  knee  with  a  hand 
kerchief  and  strips  of  flannel  torn  from  Dan's 
shirt,  did  they  stanch  the  red  flow,  but  it  did 
not  entirely  cease  until  Dan  lay  down  on  his 
back  and  raised  the  wounded  leg  against  a 
tree. 

While  Dan  limped  home  the  bleeding 
started  again,  and  that  evening  the  camp  on 
Siskiwit  Lake  was  converted  into  a  hospital, 
Dan  lying  on  his  back  with  his  leg  raised  in 
a  sling,  and  Harry  acting  as  both  camp  cook 
and  nurse. 

The  next  week  Harry  and  Waggles  visited 
the  traps  without  Dan,  and  Harry  felt  not  a 


204  THE  SILVER  ISLAND 

little  proud  when  he  dragged  a  forty-pound 
lynx  into  camp. 

"  You  bet  I  didn't  try  to  kill  him  with  a  club. 
I  put  a  bullet  in  his  head  and  Waggles  and  I 
didn  't  touch  him  until  he  was  stone  dead. ' ' 

"Yes,  I'm  sure  Waggles  will  never  go  near 
a  live  lynx,"  Dan  laughed. 

By  the  middle  of  February  the  lads  had 
caught  ten  large  lynxes.  The  skins  of  these 
they  sewed  together  with  strings  of  lynx  raw 
hide  and  covered  their  cabin  with  them  after 
they  had  carefully  scraped  the  snow  off  the 
roof.  The  edges  of  the  skins  they  tied  down 
with  rawhide  strings,  and  they  secured  the 
whole  by  means  of  poles,  and  added  a  few  flat 
rocks  from  the  creek. 

In  this  way  winter  passed  rapidly.  Their 
caribou  hunt  never  came  off,  because  they  did 
not  need  the  meat,  always  being  able  to  se 
cure  plenty  of  small  game  and  fish,  and  their 
well-eked-out  supply  of  hominy,  dried  berries 
and  wild  rice  prevented  their  getting  tired  of 
a  steady  meat  diet. 

But  the  main  reason  why  the  caribou  hunt 


HE    VENTURED   TOO    CLOSE   TO   THE    MADDENED    BEAST. — Page  203. 


OF  THE  CHIPPEWA  205 

never  came  off  was  the  difficulty  of  travel. 
Almost  everywhere  the  snow  lay  six  feet  deep, 
and  in  many  places  it  was  even  deeper,  so 
that  the  only  way  to  travel  was  on  snowshoes. 
In  many  places  the  woods  were  so  thick  that 
it  would  have  been  necessary  to  cut  a  trail. 
But  the  boys  were  in  no  need  of  meat  and 
had  no  idea  on  what  part  of  the  island  the 
caribou  wintered,  so  they  did  not  attempt 
long  inland  journeys  over  the  island. 

As  the  great  spring  break-up  approached, 
the  boys  began  to  watch  eagerly  every  sign 
of  changing  weather. 

Their  plans  were  all  made :  they  would  first 
search  around  the  west  end  of  Isle  Boyale. 
If  by  that  time  they  had  not  found  Silver  Is 
land,  they  would  cross  over  to  Thunder  Bay, 
explore  among  the  islands  there  and  work 
westward  to  the  mouth  of  Pigeon  Kiver 
whence  they  had  started  for  Isle  Eoyale. 

"What  if  we  don't  find  Silver  Island? 
What '11  we  do  then?"  asked  Harry. 

"Go  home  and  say  we  can't  do  it,"  Dan 
answered  bluntly. 


206  THE  SILVER  ISLAND 

"Maybe  Le  Noir  has  already  found  it," 
suggested  Harry. 

"Not  very  likely.  He  knows  less  about  it 
than  we  do." 

"Perhaps  he's  quit  and  gone  home." 

"Perhaps  he  has,  but  I  doubt  it.  He 
couldn't  finish  exploring  the  island  before 
winter  set  in,  but  he  could  winter  almost  any 
where  on  this  island  where  small  game  and 
fish  are  so  plentiful. 

"If  we  don't  discover  his  canoe  or  his  camp 
smoke  after  the  ice  has  gone  out  of  Siskiwit 
Bay,  I'll  quit  thinking  about  him,  but  I  can't 
before." 


CHAPTER  XXV 

DECOYING    THE    TRAILER 

WHEN  at  last  the  long  winter 
broke,  the  face  of  nature  changed 
rapidly.  From  the  open  lake  the 
waves  seemed  to  be  eating  up  the  ice,  while 
southerly  winds  and  rains  caused  the  snow 
drifts  to  shrink  visibly  from  day  to  day ;  and, 
where  the  winds  had  an  unobstructed  sweep, 
they  piled  up  the  ice  along  the  shore. 

Thousands  of  small  birds  seemed  to  drop 
from  the  sky  during  warm  nights ;  some  lin 
gered  on  the  island  for  a  day  or  two,  others 
stayed  only  a  few  hours  before  they  disap 
peared  as  mysteriously  as  they  had  come. 

The  flocks  of  great  white  gulls  had  re 
turned.  Fish-hawks  and  bald  eagles  soared 
and  screamed  over  Siskiwit  Bay,  and  then 
plunged  after  their  prey  with  folded  wings. 

The  black  ravens,  twice  as  big  as  crows,  ut- 

207 


208  THE  SILVEE  ISLAND 

tered  their  deep  croaks  and  fed  on  whatever 
the  winds  threw  ashore. 

Toward  the  end  of  April  the  whole  bay 
was  open  and  the  boys  broke  camp,  although 
there  was  still  much  snow  left  in  the  woods. 

"We'll  move  a  little  farther  east,"  Dan 
revealed  his  plan,  "and  explore  that  part  of 
the  coast  more  carefully  than  we  did  in  No 
vember."  Harry  did  not  see  the  use  of  this, 
but  he  was  so  happy  to  be  away  that  he  made 
no  objection. 

When  they  had  gone  about  three  or  four 
miles,  Dan  landed.  He  unloaded  the  canoe 
and  hid  it  behind  some  bushes.  Then  he  took 
up  his  pack  and  started  inland.  At  the  end 
of  half  a  mile  he  dropped  the  pack  behind 
a  dense  spruce  thicket. 

"This  is  our  camp  for  to-night,"  he  re 
marked.  "Perhaps  we'll  stay  a  day  or  two 
longer  if  we  like  it. ' ' 

Having  put  the  camp  in  shape  and  eaten 
dinner,  Dan  started  back  to  the  shore.  Harry 
was  so  happy  to  be  moving  again  that  he  did 
not  notice  that  Dan  seemed  absorbed  in  his 


OF  THE  CHIPPEWA  209 

own  thoughts  and  paid  little  attention  to  the 
questions  and  remarks  of  his  younger  brother. 

For  several  days  they  wandered  up  and 
down  the  shore,  in,  what  seemed  to  Harry,  an 
aimless  sort  of  way. 

Quite  often  Dan  would  say :  '  *  Harry,  you 
and  the  pup  can  explore  around  here  a  bit, 
I'll  climb  that  high  ridge  and  look  around 
some.  Meet  me  here  at  noon,  and  look  out 
that  you  don't  break  your  legs  or  your  neck 
among  the  rocks  and  fallen  trees." 

Harry  and  Waggles  enjoyed  this  very 
much,  for  it  was  only  the  second  time  on 
the  whole  long  trip  that  the  two  had  been  al 
lowed  to  do  as  they  pleased. 

However,  after  a  few  days,  Harry  began  to 
wonder  why  Dan  was  wasting  so  much  time. 
On  several  occasions  he  found  that  Dan  had 
been  lying  nearly  all  day  under  a  tree  near  the 
shore  reading  "The  Boy  Voyageurs"  for  the 
third  time. 

"I  guess  it's  Jeanie  again,"  Harry  thought 
to  himself.  "Ever  since  he  used  to  go  seeing 
Jeanie,  Dan's  had  some  queer  spells.  Golly, 


210  THE  SILVER  ISLAND 

I  wonder  if  he  wrote  her  that  we  were  going 
to  hunt  up  that  Silver  Island!  We'll  never 
find  it  though!  And  Dan  can't  get  a  letter 
from  Jeanie  as  long  as  we  wander  around 
here.  So  why  don't  we  move?" 

On  the  evening  of  the  fifth  day,  as  they 
were  eating  their  supper  on  a  high  ridge  from 
which  the  Siskiwit  Islands  were  in  plain 
view,  Harry  couldn't  stand  keeping  still  any 
longer. 

1 '  Dan, ' '  he  asked  impatiently, ' '  what  are  we 
lying  around  here  for  anyway?  If  we  don't 
get  going  pretty  soon,  we  won't  get  home  all 
summer  and  Amigoosheb  will  send  word  to 
Father  that  we're  dead.  Why  don't  we  get 
a  move  on?" 

But  Dan,  who  had  ceased  eating,  did  not 
answer.  In  fact,  Harry  saw  now  that  Dan 
was  staring  fixedly  at  something  far  away  to 
ward  the  Siskiwit  Islands,  and  hadn't  even 
heard  his  question. 

"Dan,  what 're  you  staring  at?"  Harry 
broke  out,  as  he  stood  up  to  get  a  better  view. 
"What  do  you  see?" 


OF  THE  CHIPPEWA  211 

1  'Harry,"  snapped  Dan,  springing  up,  "I 
see  Le  Noir's  camp  smoke!  Confound  the 
sneak!  There  it  is  behind  the  bushes  of  the 
farthest  Siskiwit.  Nobody  else  would  go 
there.  It's  Le  Noir  as  sure  as  you  live! 

"I  thought  I'd  spy  him  from  this  point, 
but  I  was  almost  ready  to  give  up.  It  can't 
be  anybody  else.  He  doesn't  know  we  are 
here  because  I  hid  our  camp  so  well  that  he 
can't  see  our  smoke.  He  thinks  we  wintered 
at  the  east  end.  If  he  thought  we  were  close 
by,  he  'd  never  make  such  a  big  camp  smoke. ' ' 

"What  are  we  going  to  do  now?"  Harry 
ventured,  after  a  pause. 

"We'll  decoy  that  miserable  scoundrel. 
Catch  him  and  show  him  what  sort  of  a  sneak 
ing  villain  he  is !  We  won 't  give  him  a  chance 
any  longer  to  dog  our  trail. 

"We'll  set  a  trap  for  him  and  he'll  have  to 
be  pretty  sharp  or  we'll  get  him;  I've  been 
planning  it  a  long  time." 

"Gee,"  thought  Harry  to  himself,  "I  was 
wrong  about  Jeanie  this  time." 

The   boys   returned   to   their   camp   from 


212  THE  SILVER  ISLAND 

which,  a  plain  trail  already  extended  to  the 
place  where  Dan  had  been  watching,  and  they 
took  pains  to  make  the  trail  still  plainer. 

They  returned  on  the  same  trail,  carrying 
their  blankets,  and  each  brought  his  gun, 
knife  and  ax  or  hatchet. 

Just  below  Dan's  watching  place  they 
built  a  good-sized  camp-fire  which  would  be 
plainly  visible  across  the  bay,  but  Dan  would 
not  let  Harry  make  a  blazing  bonfire  out  of 
it. 

"A  very  big  fire  might  make  Le  Noir  sus 
picious,"  was  Dan's  opinion,  "and  I  want 
him  to  think  that  we  are  just  camping  here 
and  have  no  idea  that  he  is  near.  I  know  the 
villain  is  as  suspicious  as  an  old  wolf.  He'll 
not  walk  into  any  clumsy  trap." 

At  the  end  of  an  hour,  Dan  arose. 

"It's  time  to  go  now,"  he  explained.  "If 
Le  Noir  saw  the  fire  right  away,  he  may  be 
half  across  the  bay  now.  If  we  stay  here  too 
long  he  might  get  the  drop  on  us.  At  night 
you  can  see  people  around  a  camp-fire  long 
before  they  can  see  you." 


OF  THE  CHIPPEWA  213 

According  to  Dan's  plan,  Harry  and  Wag 
gles  were  to  spend  the  night  in  camp,  while 
Dan  was  to  lie  in  wait  under  a  thick  clump 
of  spruces  only  a  rod  from  the  trail,  from 
where  he  could  also  watch  the  coast. 

"If  the  black-haired  murderer  has  seen  the 
fire,  he  '11  come  to  investigate, ' '  Dan  continued 
after  a  pause.  ' '  He  may  come  to-night  or  he 
may  come  to-morrow  night  or  the  next  night. 
If  he  hasn't  seen  it  he'll  show  himself  in  the 
bay  to-morrow  in  daylight. 

"Tie  a  rope  to  that  pup  and  don't  let  him 
get  away  from  you !  I  don 't  want  him  to  cut 
up  any  capers  which  might  give  Le  Noir  a 
chance  to  get  his  hands  on  you  or  the  pup. 

"If  I  come  to  the  tent  I'll  give  two  low 
whistles;  if  I  want  you  to  come  out  of  the 
tent  I'll  give  two  long  yells.  Keep  your  gun 
handy  and  don 't  leave  the  tent  without  it,  and 
keep  that  pup  on  the  rope. ' ' 

All  night  long  Dan  sat  or  lay  on  his  bed 
of  boughs  and  listened  for  the  sound  of  a 
canoe  on  shore  or  for  footsteps  and  move 
ments  in  the  brush.  Several  times  he  grew 


214  THE  SILVER  ISLAND 

sleepy  and  had  to  dash  some  cold  water  on  his 
face  to  keep  awake.  Not  until  the  morning 
sun  sent  its  red  rays  over  the  bay  and  the 
long  low  ridges  of  the  Siskiwits  did  he  leave 
his  lair. 

As  he  approached  the  tent  he  gave  two  low 
whistles  and  Waggles  at  once  answered  by  a 
growl  and  a  bark  and  came  rushing  out  of 
the  tent.  A  few  seconds  later  Harry  crept 
out,  gun  in  hand  and  the  other  end  of  the 
rope  tied  to  his  ankle. 

"Nothing  doing,  Harry,"  was  Dan's  mes 
sage,  while  Harry  rubbed  his  eyes  and  untied 
the  rope  from  his  ankle.  "He's  not  on  this 
island  unless  he  got  the  better  of  us  by  some 
kind  of  sharp  ruse. 

"Let's  see  how  Waggles  will  do  as  a  blood 
hound,  and  search  the  shore  with  him  for  a 
mile  east  and  west  of  our  fireplace. 

'  *  We  might  as  well  have  breakfast  first.  If 
in  the  meantime  that  half-breed  cur  travels 
around  a  bit,  it  will  be  so  much  easier  for 
bloodhound  Waggles  to  strike  the  trail." 


OF  THE  CHIPPEWA  215 

"Do  you  think  Waggles  would  follow  Le 
Noir's  trail?"  Harry  wondered. 

"Bless  your  soul,  Harry,  Waggles  remem 
bers  the  smell  of  Le  Noir  as  distinctly  as  he 
remembers  porcupine. 

"A  dog  never  forgets  his  master,  his  game, 
and  his  enemy. ' ' 

Playing  bloodhound  on  the  leash  was  new 
experience  to  Waggles  and  he  often  tangled 
himself  in  the  brush,  but  he  kept  his  nose  on 
the  ground  most  of  the  time  and  seemed  to 
realize  that  he  was  acting  in  a  capacity  of 
great  importance. 

To  rabbit  tracks  Waggles  had  learned  to 
pay  no  attention.  Fortunately,  porcupines 
do  not  live  on  high  rocky  ground  near  a  wind 
swept  shore,  and  of  Le  Noir  the  keen  quiver 
ing  nose  of  the  little  terrier  bloodhound 
found  no  trace. 

"He's  not  on  Isle  Eoyale,"  Dan  decided 
when  they  had  completed  the  trip.  ' '  But  he 's 
seen  our  fire  or  we  would  have  seen  his  smoke. 

"I   shall   watch   for  him  again   to-night. 


216  THE  SILVER  ISLAND 

Just  now  I'm  going  to  crawl  under  those 
spruces  to  get  some  sleep.  You  and  Waggles 
watch  the  bay  but  don't  expose  yourselves  on 
shore.  Call  me  if  you  see  anything. ' ' 

Dan  slept  until  noon  while  Harry  and  Wag 
gles  strolled  about  under  cover  along  shore, 
but  saw  nothing  except  gulls,  loons  and  fish 
ducks.  There  was  no  canoe  on  the  water  and 
not  a  trace  of  smoke  to  be  seen  on  the  chain 
of  islands  to  the  south.  The  boys  themselves 
built  no  fire  on  that  day. 

In  the  evening,  however,  they  again  had  a 
camp-fire  going  for  an  hour,  and  then  Dan 
once  more  retired  to  his  hiding-place  under 
the  spruces,  while  Harry  and  Waggles  se 
lected  a  similar  sleeping  place  about  two  hun 
dred  yards  up  the  trail  within  calling  distance 
of  Dan's  voice. 

On  this  watch  Dan,  because  he  had  enjoyed 
a  long  sleep  during  the  day,  was  not  troubled 
with  drowsiness;  and  he  was  himself  sur 
prised  at  the  many  sounds  of  the  night  which 
his  keen  sense  of  hearing  recognized. 

From  the  bay  came  an   occasional  long- 


OF  THE  CHIPPEWA  217 

drawn  call  of  a  loon,  while  from  the  interior 
of  the  island  was  heard  distant  hooting  of 
owls.  From  overhead  came  the  voices  of 
flocks  of  small  birds  which,  Dan  concluded, 
were  passing  over  the  island  at  night  on  their 
annual  journey  northward.  In  the  brush  he 
heard  the  rustling  tread  of  a  woodchuck,  and 
even  the  almost  inaudible  scurrying  of  the 
timid  little  wood-mice  did  not  escape  his  keen 
ears. 

About  midnight  a  breeze  sprang  up,  which 
caused  light  rippling  waves  to  break  gently 
on  the  shore  below  him,  and  which  he  knew 
might  drown  the  slight  noise  made  by  the 
landing  of  a  canoe. 

Once  indeed  he  thought  he  heard  a  sound 
as  of  a  paddle  touching  a  rock  a  little  to  the 
east.  He  sat  up  and  listened  with  strained 
attention.  Once  more  he  thought  he  heard 
the  same  sound,  but  again  he  was  not  sure 
of  it  and  then  there  were  no  other  sounds 
but  the  ceaseless  lap-lapping  of  the  waves. 

The  sky  was  clear,  and  very  early  a  faint 
gray  light  made  the  trunks  of  birch  and  pop- 


218  THE  SILVER  ISLAND 

lar  visible.  If  Le  Noir  was  coming  lie  would 
be  here  soon. 

Dan  now  felt  a  little  fatigued  from  the  long 
strain  of  attention.  He  wondered  how  many 
more  nights  he  would  have  to  spend  in  the 
brush  like  a  wild  beast  watching  for  his 
prey. 

Perhaps  Le  Noir  had  given  them  the  slip 
by  paddling  away  eastward  under  cover  of 
darkness.  He  might  not  be  trying  to  strike 
their  trail.  Possibly  he  had  wormed  enough 
information  out  of  Amigoosheb  or  some  other 
Indian  to  hunt  for  Silver  Island  on  his  own 
hook. 

"I  wish  to  God  he'd  come  or  we'd  know 
where  he  has  gone ! ' '  Dan  thought. 

What  if  he  struck  the  trail  near  Harry  and 
Waggles?  What  would  happen  then? 

It  was  almost  daylight  now  although  the 
sun  had  not  yet  risen.  A  pair  of  rabbits 
hopped  playfully  past  him,  but  Dan  recog 
nized  at  once  the  familiar  sounds  made  by 
their  padded  feet.  He  was  listening  for  the 
slow  deliberate  footfall  of  the  human  hunter 


OF  THE  CHIPPEWA  219 

and  his  eyes  were  expecting  the  tall  dark 
shape  of  a  man. 

Hark !  What  was  that  ?  Some  large  crea 
ture  was  slowly  coming  through  the  brush. 
Its  movements  were  almost  noiseless,  but 
still  audible  to  the  sensitive  ears  of  Dan. 
Perhaps  it  was  a  wolf  or  bear?  No,  it 
couldn't  be;  there  were  no  wolves  and  bears 
on  the  island. 

It  was  coming  nearer  now.  It  was  a  man. 
Dan  felt  the  loud  thumping  of  his  heart  in  his 
ears.  He  could  see  the  bushes  move.  Now 
it  stopped.  It  moved  again!  Dan  forgot 
about  his  thumping  heart.  There  stood  Le 
Noir,  listening  and  looking  around.  He 
would  pass  about  ten  yards  north  of  Dan's 
hiding-place. 

His  heavy  black  hair,  grown  long  and  mat 
ted  through  the  winter  and  not  covered  by  a 
hat  or  cap,  a  black  beard  slightly  grizzled, 
and  a  coat  of  cub-bear  skin  gave  him  a  truly 
ferocious  appearance.  He  had  grown  fat 
during  the  long  winter's  rest. 

1  'What  a  big  brute  he  is,"  thought  Dan, 


220  THE  SILVER  ISLAND 

as  the  half-breed  moved  on  slowly,  "with  the 
body  of  a  bear  and  the  face  of  a  gorilla. ' ' 

He  was  still  too  far  for  Dan  to  spring  the 
trap. 

"I  guess  I  could  knock  him  out  or  throw 
him  in  a  rough-and-tumble  fight,"  thought 
Dan.  "Boxing  and  wrestling  in  college  gives 
a  fellow  some  confidence.  If  he  didn't  have 
a  knife  and  a  gun  I'd  like  to  tackle  him." 

Now  Le  Noir  had  come  within  ten  yards 
of  the  spruces,  he  changed  his  gun  to  his  left 
hand  to  bend  aside  some  bush  with  his  right. 

It  was  the  moment  Dan  had  been  watching 
for.  With  a  noiseless  spring  he  stood  in  the 
open,  his  loaded  gun  leveled  at  Le  Noir's 
broad  chest: 

"Drop  that  gun,  you  big  sneak,"  he 
shouted,  "or  you're  a  dead  man!" 

For  a  second  Le  Noir  looked  as  savage  as 
a  lynx  in  a  trap,  and  like  a  wild  beast,  seemed 
ready  to  spring  upon  the  unexpected  enemy 
who  had  so  completely  outwitted  him.  Then 
he  released  the  hold  of  his  left  hand  and  the 
gun  dropped  in  the  brush. 


OF  THE  CHIPPEWA  221 

"Drop  your  knife!"  commanded  Dan,  and 
the  half-breed  obeyed  with  a  vicious  scowl. 

' '  Turn  and  walk  back  to  your  canoe, ' '  was 
Dan's  next  order.  "Walk  slowly  and  keep 
in  the  open.  The  minute  you  try  to  dodge 
behind  a  bush  or  tree,  I  fill  your  skin  with 
buckshot. ' ' 

Then  Dan  gave  two  loud  yells  and  in  a  few 
minutes  Harry  and  Waggles  were  on  hand, 
Waggles  barking  madly  and  straining  on  the 
rope  to  get  at  his  enemy  whose  scent  he  re 
membered  at  once. 

Le  Noir  slunk  in  silence  to  his  canoe  which 
he  had  concealed  a  few  hundred  yards  east 
of  the  boys'  camp-fire  on  shore. 

"Get  in  and  be  off!"  Dan  ordered,  when 
they  reached  the  canoe.  "  If  we  ever  see  your 
evil  face  again  on  this  trip,  I'll  puncture  your 
skull.  Here's  your  knife.  You  don't  need 
a  gun ;  you  can  live  on  fish  for  a  while. 

"If  you  land  within  five  miles  of  this  spot 
you'll  never  make  another  camp.  Now  be 
off!" 

When  Le  Noir  was  out  of  gun-shot  reach  he 


222  THE  SILVER  ISLAND 

uttered  a  string  of  horrible  curses,  oaths  and 
threats  in  mixed  English,  French,  and  Chip- 
pewa. 

"Take  care,"  Dan  called  after  him;  "if 
harm  befalls  any  of  our  family  you'll  pay 
for  it  with  your  life.  Three  men  from  To 
ronto  are  waiting  for  you  at  Fort  Frances; 
they  want  to  know  just  how  Sam  Donover 
was  drowned  in  Lake  of  the  Woods. ' ' 

*  *  I  think  he 's  just  a  big,  blasted  coward ! ' ' 
declared  Dan  after  they  had  been  watching 
Le  Noir's  canoe  going  steadily  eastward. 
"He  will  not  dog  our  trail  any  more.  How 
ever,  we  '11  take  no  chances.  The  lake  is  per 
fectly  calm  and  it  will  be  fine  traveling  by 
moonlight.  As  soon  as  it  is  dark  we  will 
start  westward." 

The  lads  lost  no  time  breaking  camp  and 
were  ready  to  start  as  soon  as  the  long 
shadows  of  evening  fell  over  the  bay.  With 
steady  strokes  they  proceeded  down  Siskiwit 
Bay,  and  before  midnight  they  rounded 
Fisherman's  Point.  As  the  open  lake  be 
yond  also  lay  perfectly  calm  and  no  islands 


"  DKOP  YOUR  KNIFE!  " — Page  221. 


OF  THE  CHIPPEWA  223 

were  in  sight  they  traveled  along  the  coast 
all  night. 

Not  until  a  red  tint  appeared  on  the  east 
ern  sky  did  they  begin  to  look  for  a  landing 
place,  which  they  found  in  a  very  small  rocky 
cove. 

As  they  set  up  their  tent  and  made  break 
fast,  the  whitethroats  began  to  sing,  and  a 
flock  of  noisy  crows  cawed  with  curiosity  at 
the  visitors  to  their  realm. 

When  hot  tea  and  a  liberal  meal  of  broiled 
trout  had  made  them  feel  warm  and  comfort 
able,  Dan  stretched  himself  on  the  blankets: 

"Now,  brother,"  he  yawned,  "we're  out  of 
danger.  Let's  take  a  nap;  I'm  just  awfully 
sleepy. ' ' 


CHAPTEE  XXVI 

SILVER   ISLAND   AT   LAST 

EAELY  in  the  afternoon  they  were 
under  way  again.  The  part  of  the 
coast  they  were  now  exploring  is  the 
most  exposed  of  the  whole  island  and  Dan 
feared  that,  if  the  lake  again  became  rough, 
they  might  have  to  lie  storm-bound  for  a 
week. 

"So  let's  make  speed  while  the  waves  are 
asleep,"  said  Dan,  and  just  before  sunset 
they  ran  into  the  crimson-tinted  waters  of 
Washington  Harbor  at  the  west  end  of  the 
island. 

As  the  boys  had  not  allowed  themselves  to 
become  fat  and  flabby  in  their  long  winter 
camp,  they  felt  strong  and  active,  and  in  one 
long  spring  day,  moving  about  from  sunrise 
till  sunset,  they  had  convinced  themselves 

224 


THE  SILVEB  ISLAND  225 

that  no  Silver  Island  existed  in  or  near  the 
bays  and  inlets  of  Washington  Harbor. 

The  weather  continuing  to  be  calm  and 
warm,  they  left  the  sheltered  waters  of  the 
west  end  early  next  morning  and  headed  the 
canoe  into  the  open  channel  between  Isle 
Eoyale  and  the  mainland  of  Ontario.  They 
passed  only  a  few  small  islands  and  low  reefs 
and  on  the  fourth  evening  after  they  had 
trapped  Le  Noir,  they  pitched  their  tent  on 
the  spot  of  their  first  camp  of  Isle  Koyale, 
having  made  an  easy  run  of  twenty  miles 
without  danger  or  fatigue. 

"Now  sleep  quick,"  Dan  told  Harry,  as 
they  rolled  in  while  it  was  yet  daylight.  "If 
the  lake  is  calm  to-morrow  we  shall  start  at 
daybreak  on  the  long  and  dangerous  run 
across  the  channel  to  Thunder  Bay. 

"I'm  convinced  that  Silver  Island  is  not 
near  Isle  Boyale  and  God  only  knows  if  we 
shall  ever  find  it. ' ' 

The  morning  broke  clear  and  calm,  and 
like  an  immense  mirror  of  tinted  glass  the 
broad  channel  lay  before  them  as  the  lads 


226  THE  SILVER  ISLAND 

started  at  sunrise  for  Pie  Island.  As  no 
wind  or  fog  interfered  with  them  they  had 
reached  its  picturesque  shores  long  before 
the  sun  indicated  the  hour  of  noon.  The 
afternoon  was  spent  in  exploring  several 
small  islands  in  the  neighborhood  and  they 
camped  for  the  night  on  the  west  side  of  Flat- 
land  Island  only  about  a  mile  from  the  main 
land  of  Ontario. 

For  the  first  time  since  they  started  on 
their  long  trip  Dan  felt  gloomy  and 
depressed. 

"Harry,"  he  began,  after  he  had  long 
stared  into  the  camp-fire  in  silence,  "I'm  at 
my  wits'  end.  I  begin  to  feel  we  are  beaten. 

"If  we  only  knew  whether  Hamigeesek's 
expression  of  the  ' Sitting  Crane'  referred  to 
a  small  or  large  landscape  feature,  I  would 
feel  more  hopeful.  I  can't  help  feeling  that 
it  must  refer  to  some  large  feature,  because 
the  island  itself  looked  to  Hamigeesek  like 
an  egg  under  the  breast  of  a  very  large  bird. 

"But  my  head  feels  tired,  puzzling  and 
thinking  about  it,  and  if  we  don't  find  Silver 


OF  THE  CHIPPEWA  227 

Island  somewhere  between  Thunder  Bay  and 
the  Pigeon  Biver  we'll  have  to  go  home  and 
tell  them  we're  beaten. 

"Let's  go  to  bed  and  have  a  long  sleep. 
We  don't  have  to  get  up  early  to-morrow.  I 
feel  kind  of  sick  and  tired  of  the  whole  busi 
ness  and  almost  wish  we  had  never  started!" 

Dan  still  felt  blue  and  discouraged  next 
morning.  The  brothers  ate  their  breakfast 
almost  in  silence,  but  when  they  had  put  out 
their  camp-fire  and  were  almost  ready  to 
start,  something  occurred  which  made  Dan 
forget  that  he  felt  blue  or  tired. 

Harry,  who  had  risen  to  carry  his  pack  to 
the  shore,  stood  as  if  petrified  and  pointed  at 
the  channel : 

"Look!"  was  all  he  could  utter. 

There  was  Le  Noir  once  more  paddling 
along  on  the  very  track  of  the  boys.  Evi 
dently  he  had  discovered  the  boys  on  the  day 
before,  but  had  not  expected  that  they  would 
camp  on  the  low  shore  of  Flatland  Island. 

"Get  in  the  canoe,  take  your  gun, "Dan 
whispered.  "I'll  settle  him  this  time!" 


228  THE  SILVER  ISLAND 

Waggles,  having  at  once  caught  the  excite 
ment,  jumped  into  the  canoe  as  the  boys 
pushed  off. 

Le  Noir  did  not  discover  that  he  was  be 
ing  pursued  until  the  boys  were  within  two 
hundred  yards  of  him.  When  a  noise  made 
by  Harry's  paddle  attracted  his  attention  he 
yelled  a  vile  oath  at  his  pursuers  and  started 
for  the  Ontario  shore  a  quarter  of  a  mile 
away  as  fast  as  he  could  go. 

"Pull,  Harry!"  muttered  Dan,  as  they 
slowly  gained  on  him.  ' '  Pull ;  he  '11  get  away 
again ! ' ' 

A  few  minutes  later  Le  Noir  drove  his 
canoe  up  on  the  beach.  Quick  as  a  flash,  he 
turned  and  hurled  his  hatchet  at  his  pursuers. 
It  barely  missed  Harry's  face,  and  cut  a  hole 
in  the  bottom  of  their  canoe. 

Then  like  a  panther  he  sprang  behind  some 
bushes  and  was  gone  before  Dan  could  raise 
his  gun  and  order  him  to  halt,  although  for  a 
minute  the  boys  could  hear  him  utter  oaths 
and  horrible  threats  of  revenge. 

When  he  was  out  of  hearing  and  the  boys 


OF  THE  CHIPPEWA  229 

looked  at  each  other  in  a  dazed  sort  of  way, 
Harry  asked : 

"What  did  you  intend  to  do  with  him,  any 
way?" 

"Heavens,  Harry,  I  don't  know.  I  was  so 
mad  and  worked  the  paddle  so  hard  that  I 
didn't  think  of  that. 

"But  I'm  glad  I  didn't  kill  him.  It  would 
have  been  a  horrible  thought  to  me. ' ' 

"I'm  just  awfully  afraid  he'll  hurt  Father 
or  Mother  or  sister,"  Harry  interposed.  "I 
wish  we  could  get  home  quick  now ! ' ' 

"He  won't,  Harry,  in  spite  of  all  his 
cursing.  He's  too  much  of  a  dirty  coward. 

"But  if  he  ever  does  I'll  have  his  life.  In 
this  wilderness  every  man  is  his  own  avenger, 
and  Le  Noir  knows  it." 

Into  Le  Noir's  canoe  the  boys  piled  a  lot 
of  rock.  They  towed  it  into  the  channel  and 
with  Le  Noir's  own  hatchet  Harry  ripped  it 
open  and  it  sank  out  of  sight  in  deep  water. 

"He'll  not  follow  us  any  more!"  said  Dan, 
as  he  drove  a  paddle  through  the  bottom  of  it. 

After  they  had  returned  to  their  camping 


230  THE  SILVER  ISLAND 

place,  repaired  their  canoe  and  loaded  their 
packs,  they  steered  a  northeasterly  course. 

"We'll  explore  the  islands  under  the  big 
peninsula  at  Thunder  Bay,"  explained  Dan, 
"and  if  we  don't  find  our  islands  there,  we'll 
have  to  give  up  for  the  present  and  start  for 
home. ' ' 

When  they  were  in  the  middle  of  the  chan 
nel  between  Pie  Island  and  the  peninsula, 
Harry  stopped  suddenly  and  pointed  his 
paddle  to  the  highland  at  their  left:  "Oh, 
look,  Dan,  look!"  he  exclaimed,  ready  to  rise 
with  excitement ;  l '  there  he  is,  there  he  is,  the 
Sitting  Crane!" 

Dan  also  stopped  paddling,  his  eyes  fixed 
on  the  long  headland. 

"Good  Lord,  Harry,  I  think  you've  found 
it.  As  sure  as  you  live,  there's  the  long  bill, 
the  head  and  the  breast  of  the  crane. ' ' 

With  their  spirits  suddenly  revived,  the 
lads  made  their  craft  fairly  fly  from  one 
small  reef  to  another.  At  the  end  of  an  hour 
Harry  gave  a  yell  and  almost  jumped  out  of 
the  boat. 


OF  THE  CHIPPEWA  231 

"Dan,  here  it  is,  here  it  is;  the  silver,  the 
white  silver  right  below  our  canoe!  We've 
found  it,  we've  found  it!"  and  the  canoe 
stopped  on  the  rock  of  Silver  Island,  for 
which  the  boys  had  searched  more  than  eight 
months. 


CHAPTER  XXVII 

A   VISIT    TO    AMIGOOSHEB.       THE    END    OF 
LE    NOIR.       HOME 

DAN  at  first  could  hardly  believe  that 
he  was  not  dreaming.  Only  this 
morning  he  had  been  almost  ready 
to  give  up  in  despair. 

But  when  his  eyes  saw  and  his  fingers  felt 
the  lumps  and  seams  of  shining  silver  in  the 
white  calcite  vein,  he  was  convinced. 

* '  Thank  God ! "  he  cried,  as  he  embraced  his 
brother.  "Harry,  we've  found  it!  Father 
and  Mother  will  be  happy  and  we  '11  start  for 
home  to-morrow!" 

Eecovered  from  their  first  joy  of  discovery, 
the  boys  began  to  explore  the  small  rock  in 
detail. 

"It  certainly  looks,"  commented  Dan,  as 
he  stepped  off  the  length  and  width  of  it, 

232 


THE  SILVER  ISLAND  233 

"like  an  egg  under  the  breast  of  a  'Sitting 
Crane,'  the  high  rocky  headland  of  Thunder 
Cape. 

"Why,  it  isn't  more  than  seventy-five  feet 
long  and  sixty  wide,  and  I  don't  think  it's  ten 
feet  high.  I  'm  sure  in  a  storm  the  waves  roll 
over  it  in  great  shape." 

From  a  vein  of  white  rock  near  the  west 
end  of  the  island  under  four  feet  of  water, 
the  boys,  using  a  pole  of  driftwood  and  the 
head  of  their  ax,  broke  a  number  of  lumps  of 
rock  and  silver  which  they  intended  to  take 
home  as  samples  from  their  mine. 

As  camping  on  the  bare  rock  was  impos 
sible,  they  made  their  camp  on  Burnt  Island, 
a  low  well-wooded  island  between  Silver 
Island  and  the  main  shore.  For  a  long  time 
they  sat  at  their  evening  camp-fire  of  green 
birch  logs,  and  talked  about  home  and  about 
the  many  adventures  they  had  met  on  their 
long  trip. 

"I  wonder  if  Le  Noir  is  watching  us  to 
night?"  asked  Harry. 

"No,  he  isn't,"  answered  Dan,  "because 


234  THE  SILVER  ISLAND 

since  this  morning  he  couldn't  walk  to  any 
place  from  where  he  can  see  us." 

1  'Do  you  suppose  he  will  build  another 
canoe  and  try  to  spy  on  us  again ! ' ' 

"I  don't  care  what  he  does  now,"  Dan 
laughed;  "we've  at  last  beaten  him  at  his 
own  game. ' ' 

After  they  had  been  talking  for  some  time 
they  raked  a  piece  of  ore  out  of  the  fire  and 
Harry  crushed  it  vigorously  with  Dan's  ax. 
He  hammered  out  a  piece  of  silver  and  held  it 
up  to  Dan,  saying:  "We  surely  found  the 
silver  and  it's  in  the  same  kind  of  rock  we 
burnt  and  crushed  at  Wolf  Hollow  a  few 
evenings  before  we  started  on  this  trip." 

In  the  morning  they  visited  Silver  Island 
again  to  make  sure  that  it  was  still  there,  be 
cause  both  had  a  feeling  that  the  adventure  of 
yesterday  had  been  a  dream  and  that  by  some 
witchcraft  the  Island  might  have  sunken  into 
the  depth  of  Lake  Superior  overnight. 

Having  convinced  themselves  that  no  magic 
had  sunk  their  mine,  they  headed  their  canoe 
southwestward  down  the  coast. 


OF  THE  CHIPPEWA  235 

"This  is  different,"  remarked  Dan  as  they 
skipped  in  high  spirits  over  the  clear  blue 
water;  "this  is  different  from  feeling  your 
way  in  a  beastly  fog." 

The  weather  continued  fine  all  day,  and, 
with  a  gentle  northeast  breeze  favoring  them, 
they  made  a  record  run  of  forty  miles  and 
camped  in  the  evening  near  the  mouth  of  the 
Pigeon  River. 

Two  days  later  they  reached  the  camp  of 
Amigoosheb,  who  himself  and  his  whole 
family  did  not  conceal  their  joy  at  seeing 
their  white  friends  again. 

There  were  great  stories  to  tell  around  the 
tepee  fire.  Dan  thanked  his  friend  for  send 
ing  them  the  smoke  signals  and  told  him  how 
without  his  warning  they  would  almost  surely 
have  fallen  into  the  power  of  Le  Noir.  To 
these  stories  Amigoosheb  and  Magwah  lis 
tened  with  a  peculiar  gleam  in  their  eyes,  but 
Amigoosheb  only  replied : 

"Le  Noir  was  a  bad  man.  He  was  a  bad 
white  man  and  a  bad  Chippewa  grown  to 
gether. 


236  THE  SILVER  ISLAND 

"We  spoke  of  you  many,  many  times,"  he 
continued.  ''When  the  clouds  dropped  the 
blankets  of  snow  on  the  forest  and  when  the 
trees  split  with  the  great  cold  we  wished  that 
Manitou  would  send  you  plenty  of  game  and 
that  the  glowing  birch  logs  would  keep  you 
warm. 

' '  Now  your  father  and  mother  and  the  little 
sister  will  be  glad,  and  I  do  not  go  to  make 
another  rising  smoke  on  the  high  rocks  of 
Tabahta." 

The  boys  consented  to  stay  one  day  with 
their  Chippewa  friends,  and  after  a  good 
night's  sleep  and  breakfast  their  host  in 
vited  them  to  follow  him  into  the  woods 
north. 

About  a  mile  they  walked  in  silence ;  Ami- 
goosheb,  Magwah  and  the  two  boys,  but  they 
followed  no  trail.  Then  Amigoosheb  sat 
down  on  a  fallen  tree  and  motioned  the  others 
to  sit  down  also. 

"I  wish  to  speak  to  my  two  white  friends," 
Amigoosheb  began,  and  Dan  again  noticed 
the  mysterious  gleam  in  his  eyes. 


OF  THE  CHIPPEWA  237 

"From  the  Island  of  Tabahta  I  sent  you  a 
message  which  you  read  on  the  Island  of 
Minong.  Le  Noir  was  a  bad  man  and  the 
two  smokes  said  that  he  had  followed  you. 

1 '  Two  sleeps  ago  Le  Noir  came  to  my  tepee 
and  I  read  in  his  face  that  he  had  intended  to 
do  evil  to  you,  but  I  could  not  read  that  the 
Great  Manitou  had  not  allowed  it. 

"He  said  he  had  lost  his  gun  and  his  ax, 
but  I  did  not  believe  it  and  when  I  left  the 
tepee  with  him  I  put  a  knife  under  my  blanket. 

"When  we  were  alone  near  the  trout 
stream  his  evil  spirit  came  out  of  him.  He 
called  on  the  white's  man  God  to  bring  evil 
upon  you  and  upon  me  and  my  family  if  I 
would  not  tell  him  all  I  knew  about  the 
Island  of  Shenoah.  I  remained  silent  and  he 
sprang  upon  me  like  a  mad  wolf.  We  fought. 
He  thought  I  had  no  knife.  He  cut  my  left 
arm,  where  Anego  has  bandaged  it,  but  he 
did  not  strike  for  my  arm.  I  drove  my  knife 
deep  into  his  side  and  his  black  soul  flew 
away. 

"Magwah  and  I  buried  his  body  there," — 


238  THE  SILVER  ISLAND 

and  lie  bent  apart  some  willows  with  his  long 
arms  and  pointed  to  a  low  and  long  pile  of 
flat  stones. 

"  Never  will  he  follow  your  trail  again  and 
may  the  shaggy  bears  and  the  hungry  wolves 
scatter  his  bones  through  the  forests!" 

On  their  way  to  Fort  Frances  the  lads 
traveled  as  if  on  wings ;  in  fact,  they  rigged 
up  a  sail  on  their  canoe  to  increase  its  speed. 
Several  days  of  rainy  and  stormy  weather 
overtook  them,  but  they  pushed  on  in  spite 
of  rain  and  storm. 

The  birds  of  June  were  singing  again  and 
the  flowers  of  spring  were  again  in  bloom,  but 
they  did  not  listen  to  the  birds  nor  look  at 
the  flowers. 

On  the  seventh  evening  after  leaving  Ami- 
goosheb  they  threw  their  packs  on  the  stan 
chion  floor  of  their  mother's  cabin.  Had  an 
angel  of  God  rescued  her  sons  from  the  bot 
tom  of  the  cold  inland  sea,  the  joy  of  their 
mother  could  not  have  been  greater.  Both 
mother  and  father  seemed  to  have  forgotten 
that  the  lads  had  gone  to  discover  a  silver 


OF  THE  CHIPPEWA  239 

mine.  Their  sons,  for  whom  they  had  wept 
and  grieved  as  dead,  were  alive  and  home 
again.  All  the  rest  did  not  matter. 

Little  Margaret  ran  from  Dan  to  Harry 
and  from  Harry  back  to  Dan,  and  Waggles 
danced  and  whined  around  the  room  as  if  he 
were  performing  in  a  ballet. 

After  the  boys  had  enjoyed  a  week's  rest, 
Dan  and  his  father  made  a  quick  trip  to 
Silver  Island.  After  a  thorough  inspection 
they  found  that  the  apparently  rich  mine 
could  not  be  worked  without  a  great  outlay 
of  money.  The  whole  vein  was  submerged, 
and  the  islet  was  so  small  and  low  that  no 
mine  could  be  developed  without  the  build 
ing  of  expensive  cribs  and  coffer-dams  to 
protect  the  pit  or  shaft  from  the  storm-driven 
waves. 

After  the  legal  requirements  had  been  com 
plied  with,  they  sold  their  title  to  the  mine 
for  a  good  figure,  and  with  the  money  they 
established  themselves  in  business  in  Detroit, 
where  ultimately  their  firm  grew  to  be  one  of 
the  largest  and  most  prosperous  in  the  city. 


240  THE  SILVER  ISLAND 

When  Harry  was  old  enough  he  also  became 
a  member  of  the  firm  and  added  to  its  success. 
For  the  two  brothers  had  found  on  their  long 
search  for  Silver  Island  something  which  in 
after  life  proved  far  more  valuable  to  them 
than  silver, — undaunted  courage  and  unflag 
ging  perseverance,  and  they  had  learned  to 
pull  together  against  all  odds.  "All  for  one 
and  one  for  all,"  became  the  silent  but  all- 
inspiring  motto  of  the  house. 

Every  spring  with  the  first  boat  the  house 
of  McCulloch  and  Sons  shipped  a  package  to 
Amigoosheb  and  Anego  on  Pigeon  River,  and 
the  Chippewa  and  his  wife  were  not  a  little 
proud  of  the  fine  blankets  it  contained.  Once 
Amigoosheb  came  down  to  Detroit  on  the  big 
smoking  and  screaming  canoe  of  the  White 
Man.  Dan  and  Harry  entertained  him  as 
only  two  grateful  youths  know  how  to  do; 
but  at  the  end  of  a  week  the  old  hunter  was 
homesick  for  the  forest.  As  the  boat  was 
ready  to  leave,  the  boys  presented  their  friend 
with  the  best  rifle  they  had  been  able  to  buy 
in  Detroit,  and  the  eyes  of  the  old  hunter 


OF  THE  CHIPPEWA  241 

gleamed  with  a  boyish  joy  as  his  hands  tried 
the  mechanism  of  the  gun;  and  of  all  the 
happy  people  on  the  boat,  the  tall,  silent 
Chippewa  hunter  was  the  happiest. 

When  some  ten  years  later  the  boys  and 
their  parents  watched  the  logs  blazing  in  the 
fireplace  on  Christmas  eve,  the  boys,  as  they 
had  often  done  before,  recounted  many  of  the 
adventures  of  their  winter  camp  on  Isle 
Koyale  and  they  had  heard  without  envy  of 
the  great  wealth  which  a  Michigan  mining 
company  was  taking  out  of  Silver  Island. 

Then  the  boys'  mother  arose  quietly  and 
said  in  her  low  sweet  voice:  "Come  now, 
boys.  You  can  tell  us  more  of  your  Christ 
mas  rabbits  at  Camp  Siskiwit,  while  you  are 
enjoying  your  sister's  Christmas  turkey. 
Come  right  away;  you  know  Margaret  does 
not  like  to  wait." 


CHAPTEE  XXVIH 

THE    HISTORY    OF    SILVER    ISLAND 

THE  glamour  of  romance  in  fiction  is 
eclipsed  by  the  actual  facts  of  the 
history  of  Silver  Island,  and  in  this 
closing  chapter  of  our  tale,  we  shall  hold  our 
selves  to  recorded  history. 

On  the  first  of  September,  1870,  Captain 
William  B.  Frue  of  Houghton,  Michigan, 
landed  on  Silver  Island  with  a  force  of  thirty- 
four  men  and  the  necessary  tools  and 
machinery. 

The  silver-bearing  vein,  where  it  crossed 
the  Island,  was  under  four  feet  of  water  and 
the  shaft,  of  course,  had  to  be  sunk  on  this 
vein. 

The  men  first  built  a  breakwater  nearly  six 
hundred  feet  long  to  protect  the  islet  against 
the  .two-hundred-mile  sweep  of  the  waves 
from  the  southeast.  Behind  this  breakwater 

242 


THE  SILVER  ISLAND          243 

which  was  built  of  timber  and  stone  and  was 
thirteen  feet  high,  they  built  a  coffer-dam 
seventy  feet  in  circumference,  and  entirely 
enclosing  the  vein.  This  enclosed  pond  they 
pumped  dry  by  means  of  a  steam  siphon  and 
now  they  were  ready  for  actual  mining  opera 
tions. 

This  enormous  amount  of  preparatory 
work  the  men  had  accomplished  in  about 
six  weeks  by  working  eighteen  hours  a  day. 

Mining  went  on  now  until  the  latter  part  of 
October,  when  a  storm  tore  away  a  third  of 
the  breakwater,  rolled  the  waves  right  into 
the  pit  and  filled  it  with  rock.  Although  re 
pairing  these  damages  required  weeks  of 
time,  the  men  took  $108,000  worth  of  silver 
out  of  the  mine  that  fall  and  the  owners  were 
satisfied  that  they  had  not  paid  too  much  for 
the  Island. 

Mining  on  the  islet  was,  however,  by  no 
means  picking  up  riches  without  work.  It 
was  a  relentless  battle  of  human  brain  and 
muscle  against  the  storms  and  battering 
waves  of  Lake  Superior. 


244  THE  SILVER  ISLAND 

Again  and  again  the  breakwater  and  the 
coffer-dam  were  battered  down  by  the  waves, 
and  rock  and  timbers  carried  away  as  if  they 
were  straws  and  nutshells.  But  no  waves 
could  batter  down  the  courage  of  Captain 
Frue  and  his  men.  They  quarried  rock  on 
the  mainland  and  brought  timber  from  a 
grove  of  pines  some  miles  inland,  because  the 
timber  near  the  mine  had  been  exhausted. 
With  this  material  they  built  cribbing  with  a 
base  of  seventy-five  feet,  and  the  breakwater 
rose  to  a  height  of  eighteen  feet  above  the 
lake. 

When  the  men  had  completed  their  plans, 
Silver  Island  looked  very  different  from  the 
thousands  of  other  low  rocky  islets  in  Lake 
Superior. 

A  high  wooden  rampart,  the  interior  filled 
with  stone,  several  houses,  an  engine  house 
and  a  shaft  house  resembling  a  high  tower, 
gave  it  the  appearance  of  a  sea  fortress. 
And  it  proved  indeed  a  fortress  which  waves 
and  ice  and  storms  bombarded  in  vain.  In- 


OF  THE  CHIPPEWA  245 

side  the  ramparts  and  down  in  the  pit,  brave 
and  hardy  men  carried  on  their  work. 

A  harbor  was  built  between  Burnt  Island 
and  the  shore.  Quite  a  mining  village  sprang 
up  on  shore,  having  both  a  schoolhouse  and 
a  church.  When  the  mine  was  most  prosper 
ous,  over  two  hundred  men  were  employed  at 
the  same  time.  Large  lake  steamers  called 
at  the  port  and  tourists  landed  to  see  the 
wonders  of  Silver  Island. 

The  valuable  ore  and  native  silver  was 
found  in  a  fissure  vein  six  feet  wide.  The 
ore  was  fabulously  rich,  running  as  high  as 
$12,000  a  ton,  and  lumps  of  metallic  silver 
were  found  weighing  a  hundred  pounds. 

At  the  depth  of  six  hundred  feet,  the  vein 
gave  out,  and  in  1884,  when  the  shaft  had 
reached  1000  feet  below  the  lake,  the  mine 
and  the  island  were  abandoned. 

The  romantic  life  of  the  Silver  Island  mine 
extended  only  through  thirteen  years,  but 
during  this  short  time  $3,089,000  in  silver  was 
taken  out. 


246  THE  SILVEE  ISLAND 

To-day  Silver  Island  is  once  more  the  home 
of  the  white  screaming  gulls  and  the  resting- 
place  of  eagles  and  ospreys.  No  human  be 
ing  except  curious  visitors  and  tourists  is 
ever  seen  on  its  ramparts  and  no  smoke 
issues  from  the  engine  house.  Many  a  tour 
ist  on  the  steamers  running  from  Port  Ar 
thur  to  the  fiords  and  fishing  stations  of  Isle 
Eoyale,  still  wild  and  beautiful,  has  wondered 
and  asked,  as  the  boat  passed  the  bold  and 
beak-like  headland  of  Thunder  Cape,  what 
might  be  the  story  of  the  deserted  sea  for 
tress  of  Silver  Island. 


THE    END 


ON  THE  TRAIL  OF  THE  SIOUX 

The  Adventures  of  Two  Boy  Scouts  on 
the  Minnesota  Frontier 

By    D.    LANQE 
Illustrated    12mo    Cloth    Price,  Net,  $1.00   Postpaid,  $1.10 


story  was  written  by  a  prominent 
*  educator  to  satisfy  the  insistent  demand  of 
active  boys  for  an  "Indian  Story,"  as  well  as 
to  help  them  to  understand  what  even  the  young 
endured  in  the  making  of  our  country.  The  story 
is  based  on  the  last  desperate  stand  of  the  brave 
and  warlike  Sioux  tribes  against  the  resistless 
tide  of  white  men's  civilization,  the  thrilling 
scenes  of  which  were  enacted  on  the  Minnesota 
frontier  in  the  early  days  of  the  Civil  War. 

"  It  is  a  book  which  will  appeal  to  young  and  old 
alike,  as  the  incidents  are  historically  correct  and 
related  in  a  wide-awake  manner."  —  Philadelphia 
Press. 

"  It  seems  like  a  strange,  true  story  more  than 
fiction.  It  is  well  written  and  in  good  taste,  and 
it  can  be  commended  to  all  boy  readers  and  to  many 
of  their  elders."—  Hartford  Times. 

THE  SILVER  ISLAND  OF 
THE   CHIPPEWA 

By   D.   LANQE 
Illustrated    12mo    Cloth    Price,  Net,  $1.00   Postpaid,  $1.10 

TJERE  is  a  boys'  book  that  tells  of  the  famous 
*•  *•  Silver  Island  in  Lake  Superior  from  which 
it  is  a  fact  that  ore  to  the  value  of  $3,089,000 
was  taken,  and  represents  a  youth  of  nineteen 
and  his  active  small  brother  aged  eleven  as 
locating  it  after  eight  months  of  wild  life,  dur 
ing  which  they  wintered  on  Isle  Royale.  Their 
success  and  escape  from  a  murderous  half-breed 
are  due  to  the  friendship  of  a  noble  Chippewa 
Indian,  and  much  is  told  of  Indian  nature  and 
ways  by  one  who  thoroughly  knows  the  subject. 

"There  is  no  call  to  buy  cheap,  impossible  stuff 
for  boys'  reading  while  there  is  such  a  book  as  this 
available*"  —  Philadelphia  Inquirer. 

For  tale  by  all  booksellers  or  seat  postpaid  on  receipt 
of  price  by  the  publishers 

LOTHROP,  LEE  &  SHEPARD  CO.,  BOSTON 


THE  SILVER  ISLAND 
OF  THE  CHIPPEWA 


U.  S.  SERVICE  SERIES 

By  FRANCIS  ROLT-WHEELER 

Illustrations  from  photographs  taken  in  work  for  U.  S.  Government 
Large  12m o    Cloth    $1.50  per  volume 

"There  are  no  better  books  for  boys  than  Francis  Rolt-Wheeler's 
'  U.  S.  Service  Series.'  " — Chicago  Record-Herald, 

THE  BOY  WITH  THE  U.  S.  SURVEY 

TrUS  story  describes  the  thrilling  advent- 
*  ures  of  members  of  the  U.  S.  Geological 
Survey,  graphically  woven  into  a  stirring 
narrative  that  both  pleases  and  instructs.  The 
author  enjoys  an  intimate  acquaintance  with 
the  chiefs  of  the  various  bureaus  in  Washing 
ton,  and  is  able  to  obtain  at  first  hand  the 
material  for  his  books. 

"There  is  abundant  charm  and  vigor  in  the 
narrative  which  is  sure  to  please  the  boy  readers 
and  will  do  much  toward  stimulating-  their  patriot, 
ism  by  making  them  alive  to  the  needs  of  conser 
vation  of  the  vast  resources  of  their  country."— 
Chicago  News, 

THE  BOY  WITH  THE  U.  S.  FORESTERS 

THE  life  of  a  typical  boy  is  followed  in  all  its  adventurous  detail — the 
mighty  representative  of  our  country's  government,  though  young  in 
years — a  youthful  monarch  in  a  vast  domain  of   forest.     Replete   with 
information,  alive  with  adventure,  and  inciting  patriotism  at  every  step, 
this  handsome  book  is  one  to  be  instantly  appreciated. 

"  It  is  a  fascinating  romance  of  real  life  in  our  country,  and  will  prove  a  great 
pleasure  and  inspiration  to  the  boys  who  read  it." —  The  Continent,  Chicago. 

THE  BOY  WITH  THE  U.  S.  CENSUS 

THROUGH  the  experiences  of  a  bright  American  boy,  the  author  shows 
how  the  necessary  information  is  gathered.  The  securing  of  this  of 
ten  involves  hardship  and  peril,  requiring  journeys  by  dog-team  in  the 
frozen  North  and  by  launch  in  the  alligator-filled  Everglades  of  Florida, 
while  the  enumerator  whose  work  lies  among  the  dangerous  criminal 
classes  of  the  greater  cities  must  take  his  life  in  his  own  hands. 

"  Every  young  man  should  read  this  story  from  cover  to  cover,  thereby  fretting1 
a  clear  conception  of  conditions  as  they  exist  to-day,  for  such  knowledge  will  have 
a  clean,  invigorating  and  healthy  Influence  on  the  young  growing  and  thinking 
mind." — Boston  Globe. 


THE  BOY  WITH  THE 
U.S.SURVEY 


LOTHROP,  LEE  &  SHEPARD  CO.,  BOSTON 


U.  S.  SERVICE  SERIES 

By  FRANCIS   ROLT-WHEELER 

Many  Illustrations  from  photographs  taken  in  work  for  U.S.  Government 
Large  12mo    Cloth    $1.50  per  volume 

"  There  are  no  better  books  for  boys  than  Francis  Rolt-Wheeler's  '  U.  S. 
Service  Series.' " — Chicago  Record- Herald. 

THE  BOY  WITH  THE  U.  S.  FISHERIES 

"\TtnTH  a  bright,  active  American  youth  as 
•  •  a  hero,  is  told  the  story  of  the  Fisheries, 
which  in  their  actual  importance  dwarf  every 
other  human  industry.  The  book  does  not 
lack  thrilling  scenes.  The  far  Aleutian  Islands 
have  witnessed  more  desperate  sea-fighting 
than  has  occurred  elsewhere  since  the  days  of 
the  Spanish  buccaneers,  and  pirate  craft,  which 
the  U.  S.  Fisheries  must  watch,  rifle  in  hand, 
are  prowling  in  the  Behring  Sea  to-day.  The 
fish-farms  of  the  United  States  are  as  inter 
esting  as  they  are  immense  in  their  scope. 
44  One  of  the  best  books  for  boys  of  all  ages,  so 
attractively  written  and  illustrated  as  to  fascinate 
the  reader  into  staying  up  until  all  hours  to  finish 
it."— Philadelphia  Despatch. 

THE   BOY   WITH   THE  U.  5.  INDIANS 

THIS  book  tells  all  about  the  Indian  as  he 
really  was  and  is;  the  Menominee  in  his 
birch-bark  canoe;  the  Iroquois  in  his  wigwam  in 
the  forest;  the  Sioux  of  the  plains  upon  his  war- 
pony  ;  the  Apache,  cruel  and  unyielding  as  his 
arid  desert;  the  Pueblo  Indians,  with  remains  of 
ancient  Spanish  civilization  lurking  in  the  fast 
nesses  of  their  massed  communal  dwellings;  the 
Tlingit  of  the  Pacific  Coast,  with  his  totem-poles. 
With  a  typical  bright  American  youth  as  a  central 
figure,  a  good  idea  of  a  great  field  of  national 
activity  is  given,  and  made  thrilling  in  its  human 
side  by  the  heroism  demanded  by  the  little-known 
adventures  of  those  who  do  the  work  of  "Uncle 
Sam." 

"  An  exceedingly  interesting  Indian  story,  because  it  Is  true,  and  not  mere'.y 
a  dramatic  and  picturesque  incident  of  Indian  fife." — JV.  Y.  Times. 

"It  tells  the  Indian's   story  in  a  way  that  will  fascinate  the  youngster."— 
Rochester  Herald. 

For  tale  by  ail  booksellers  or  sent  postpaid  oa  receipt 
of  price  by  the  publifhert 

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THE  BOY  WITH  THE 
U.S.  FISHERIES 


BOOKS  BY  EVERETT  T.  TOMLINSON. 


THE  WAR  OF   1812  SERIES 

Seven  volumes   Cloth    Illustrated   Price  per  volume,  $1.25 

NO  American  writer  for  boys  has  ever 
occupied  a  higher  position  than  Dr. 
Tomlinson,  and  the  "War  of  1812  Series" 
covers  a  field  attempted  by  no  other  juvenile 
literature  in  a  manner  that  has  secured  con 
tinued  popularity. 

The  Search  for  Andrew  Field 
The  Boy  Soldiers  of  1812 
The  Boy  Officers  of  1812 
Teeumseh's  Young  Braves 
Guarding  the  Border 
The  Boys  with  Old  Hickory 
The  Boy  Sailors  of  1812 

ST.   LAWRENCE  SERIES 

Cloth    Illustrated    $1.50  per  volume 

THE  author  stands  in  the  very  front  rank  in  ability  to  instruct  the 
young  while  entertaining  them  and  here  presents  a  series  in  his  best 
and  strongest  vein.  A  party  of  boys,  fascinated  by  the  glowing  narrative 
of  Farkman,  spend  several  summers  in  camp  and  on  the  majestic  St. 
Lawrence,  tracing  the  footsteps  of  the  early  explorers,  and  having  the 
best  time  imaginable  in  combining  pleasure  with  information. 

CAMPING  ON  THE  ST.  LAWRENCE 

Or,  On  the  Trail  of  the  Early  Discoverers 

THE  HOUSE-BOAT  ON  THE  ST.  LAWRENCE 

Or,  Following  Frontenae 

CRUISING  IN  THE  ST.  LAWRENCE 

Or,  A  Summer  Vacation  in  Historic  Waters 

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PHILLIPS    EXETER    SERIES 

By  A.  T.  DUDLEY 

Cloth,  I2mo     Illustrated  by  Charles  Copeland     Price  per  volume,  $1.25 

FOLLOWING  THE  BALL 

HERE  is  an  up-to-date   story  presenting   American  boarding-school 
life  and  modern  athletics.     Football  is  an  important  feature,  but  it 
is  a  story  of  character  formation  in  which  athletics  play  an  important  part. 

"  Mingled  with  the  story  of  football  is  another  and  higher  endeavor,  giving  th« 
book  the  best  of  moral  tone." —  Chicago  Record-Herald. 

MAKING  THE  NINE 

rT^HE  life  presented  is  that  of  a  real  school,  interesting,  diversified, 
J.  and  full  of  striking  incidents,  while  the  characters  are  true  and 
consistent  types  of  American  boyhood  and  youth.  The  athletics  are 
technically  correct,  abounding  in  helpfull  suggestions,  and  the  moral 
tone  is  high  and  set  by  action  rather  than  preaching. 

"  The  story  is  healthful,  for,  while  it  exalts  athletics,  it  does  not  overlook  the 
fact  that  studious  habits  and  noble  character  are  imperative  needs  for  those  who 
would  win  success  in  life." —  Herald  and  Presbyter,  Cincinnati. 

IN  THE  LINE 

HPELLS  how  a  stalwart  young  student  won  his  position  as  guard,  and 
JL    at  the  same  time  made  equally  marked  progress  in  the  formation  of 

character.     Plenty  of  jolly   companions  contribute   a  strong,  humorotu 

element,  and  the  book  has  every  essential  of  a  favorite. 

"  The  book  gives  boys  an  interesting  story   much  football  information,  and  many 

lessons  in  true  manliness."—  Watchman,  Boston, 


With  Mask  and  Mitt 

WHILE  baseball  plays  an  important  part 
in  this  story,  it  is  not  the  only  element 
of  attraction.  While  appealing  to  the  natural 
normal  tastes  of  boys  for  fun  and  interest  in 
the  national  game,  the  book,  without  preach 
ing,  lays  emphasis  on  the  building  up  of 
character. 

"No  normal  boy  who  is  interested  in  our  great 
national  game  can  fail  to  find  interest  and  profit,  too, 
in  this  lively  boarding  school  story." —  Interior, 
Chicago. 


WITH  MASK  AND  MOT 

AT.  DUDlTf 


For  sale  by  all  booksellers  or  sent  postpaid  on  receipt  of  price 
by  the  publishers, 

LOTHROP,   LEE   &  SHEPARD   CO.,      BOSTON 


PHILLIPS  EXETER  SERIES 

By  A.  T.  DUDLEY 
Cloth    12mo    Illustrated    Price  per  volume,  $1.25 

THE  GREAT   YEAR 

THREE  fine,  manly  comrades,  respectively  captains  of  the   football, 
baseball,  and  track  and  field  athletic  teams,  make  a  compact  to  sup 
port  each  other  so  that  they  may  achieve  a  "great  year"  of  triple  victory 
over  their  traditional  rival,  "Hillbury." 

THE  YALE  CUP 

"yHE  "Cup"  is  an  annual  prize  given  by  a  club  of  Yale  alumni  to  the 
*     member  of  the  Senior  class  of   each  of   several  preparatory  schools 
"who   best  combines  proficiency  in  athletics  with  good  standing  in  his 
studies." 

A   FULL-BACK   AFLOAT 

A  T  the  close  of  his  first  year  in  college  Dick  Melvin  is  induced  to  earn 
**•  a  passage  to  Europe  by  helping  on  a  cattle  steamer.  The  work  is  not 
so  bad,  but  Dick  finds  ample  use  for  the  vigor,  self  control,  and  quick 
wit  in  emergency  which  he  has  gained  from  football. 

THE   PECKS   IN  CAMP 

HPHE  Pecks  are  twin  brothers  so  resembling  each  other  that  it  was  almost 
•*•    impossible  to  tell  them  apart,  a  fact  which  the  roguish  lads  made  the 
most  of  in  a  typical  summer  camp  for  boys. 

THE   HALF-MILER 

THIS  is  the  story  of  a  young  man  of  posi 
tive  character  facing  the  stern  problem 
of  earning  his  way  in  a  big  school.  The 
hero  is  not  an  imaginary  compound  of 
superlatives,  but  a  plain  person  of  flesh  and 
blood,  aglow  with  the  hopeful  idealism  of 
youth,  who  succeeds  and  is  not  spoiled  by 
success.  He  can  run,  and  he  does  run  — 
through  the  story. 

"  It  is  a  good,  wholesome,  and  true-to-Iife  story, 
with  plenty  of  happenings  such  as  normal  boys  en 
joy  reading  about." — Brooklyn  Daily  Times. 

For  gale  by  all  booksellers  or  seat  postpaid  on  receipt  of 
price  by  the  publishers 

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Making    of     Our    Nation    Series 

By  WILLIAM  C.  SPRAGUE 

Large  xamo,  Cloth  Illustrated  by  A.  B.  Shute 

Price  per  volume,  $1.50 

The   Boy  Courier   of  Napoleon 

A   Story  of   the   Louisiana   Purchase 

WILLIAM  C.  SPRAGUE,  the  notably  suc 
cessful  editor  of  "The  American  Boy," 
has  given  for  the  first  time  the  history 
of  the  Louisiana  Purchase  in  entertaining  story 
form.  The  hero  is  introduced  as  a  French 
drummer  boy  in  the  great  battle  of  Hohenlinden. 
He  serves  as  a  valet  to  Napoleon  and  later  is 
sent  with  secret  messages  to  the  French  in  San 
Domingo  and  in  Louisiana.  After  exciting  ad 
ventures  he  accomplishes  his  mission  and  is 
present  at  the  lowering  of  the  Spanish  flag,  and 
later  at  that  of  the  French  and  the  raising  ol 
the  Stars  and  Stripes. 

"All  boys  and  girls  of  our  country  who  read  this  book  will  be  delighted  with  it, 
as  well  as  benefited  by  the  historical  knowledge  contained  in  its  pages." — Louis 
ville,  Ky.,  Times, 

"An  excellent  book  for  boys,  containing  just  enough  history  to  mmke  them  hunger 
for  more.  No  praise  of  this  book  can  be  too  high."—  Town  Topic.-,  Cleveland,  O. 

"This  book  is  one  to  fascinate  every  intelligent  American  boy." — Buffalo  Times 

The   Boy   Pathfinder 

A  Story  of  the  Oregon  Trail 

THIS  book  has  as  its  hero  an  actual  character, 
George  Shannon,  a  Pennsylvania  lad,  who 
at  seventeen  left  school  to  become  one  of 
the  Lewis  and  Clark  expedition.     He  had  nar 
row  escapes,  but  persevered,  and  the  story  of 
his  wanderings,  interwoven  with  excellent  his 
torical  information,  makes  the  highest  type  of 
general  reading  for  the  young. 

"It  is  a  thoroughly  good  story,  full  of  action  and 
adventure  and  at  the  same  time  carrying  a  bit  of  real 
history  accurately  recorded," — Uni-versalis,t  Leader, 
Boston. 

"It  is  an  excellent  book  for  a  boy  to  read." — Nei»- 
mrfc,  N.  J.,  Advertiser. 


THE  BOY  COURIER  OF 
NAPOLEON 


HE  BOY 
HFINDER 


WM  C  SPRAGUE 


For  tmle  by  all  booksellers  or  tent  postpaid  on  receipt  of 
price  by  the  publishers 

LOTHROP,  LEE  &  SHEPARD  CO.,  BOSTON 


Raymond  Benson  Series 

By  CLARENCE  B.  BURLBIQH 

Illustrated  by  **..  J.   Bridgman  Large   X2mo,   Cloth 

$1.50  per  volume 

The  Camp  on   Letter  K 

THE  story  deals  with  two  active  boys  in  Aroostook  County  close  to  thft 
northeastern  boundary  of  our  country,  and  where  smuggling  across 
Ae  Canadian  line  has  been  prevalent.  Equally  ready  in  athletics,  hunting, 
or  helping  their  families  on  the  rich  farms  of  that  section,  these  good 
chums  have  many  exciting  adventures,  the  most  important  of  which 
directly  concerns  the  leading  smugglers  of  the  district,  and  an  important 
public  service  is  rendered  by  the  boys. 

"There  is  an  atmosphere  about  the  whole  book  that  is  attractive  to  boys,  and  it 
will  be  read  by  them  with  enthusiastic  delight."  —  Democrat  and  Chronidt, 
Rocnester,  N.  Y. 

Raymond  Benson  at  Krampton 

RAYMOND  BENSON  and  his  friend,  Ned  Grover,  go  to  Krampton 
Academy,  which  is  no  other  than  the  noted  school  at  New 
Hampton,  N.  H.,  where  Mr.  Burleigh  was  fitted  for  college.  We  have 
had  good  books  telling  of  the  larger  and  more  aristocratic  preparatory 
schools,  but  never  before  one  that  so  well  told  of  life  at  a  typical  country 
academy  of  the  sort  that  have  furnished  the  inspiration  for  so  many 
successful  men. 

"  It  is  interesting  from  start  to  finish,  and  while  rousing  and  full  of  enthusiasm, 
is  wholesome  in  spirit,  and  teaches  lessons  of  purity  and  justice  and  manliness  in 
real  life."—  Herald  &  Presbyter, 

The  Kenton  Pines 

«l£ENTON  COLLEGE"  is  Bowdom 
College,  beautiful  in  its  location  and 
famous  in  its  history.  Raymond's  athletic 
abilities  insure  him  immediate  and  enduring 
prominence  as  a  student,  and  the  accounts  of 
athletic  contests  will  stir  the  blood  of  any 
one.  But  the  book  is  tar  more  than  a  tale  of 
these  things;  it  is  a  wonderful  picture  of  life 
at  a  smaller  college,  with  all  its  fine  hard 
work,  "grinds,"  anoi triumphs.  It  is  a  book 
that  rings  true  on  every  manly  question. 

'•This  book,  like  the  other  of  the  series,  is  of  a  very  high  character,  and  should 
oe  an  inspiration  to  all  boys  contemplating  a  college  career."  —  Interior. 

Par  Male  at  alt  booksellers  or  seat  postpaid  on  receipt  or 
price  by  the  publishers 

LOTHROP,  LEE  &  SHEPARD  CO.,  BOSTON 


THE  HANDY  BOY 

A  Modern  Handy  Book  of  Practical  and  Profitable  Pastimes 
By  A.  NEELY   HALL 

Author  of  "  The  Boy  Craftsman  "  and 
"Handicraft  for  Handy  Boys" 

With   nearly  600  illustrations  and  working  drawings  by 

the  Author  and  Norman  P.  Hall    8vo    Cloth 

Price,  Net,  $1.60     Postpaid,  $1.82 

A  HANDY  boy  becomes  a  handy  man — a 
•**•  skilled  mechanic,  a  practical  business 
man,  a  thorough,  accurate  worker.  That  is 
why  it  is  so  important  to  encourage  the  boy  to 
become  handy.  "The  Handy  Boy"  has  been 
written  with  a  view  to  instructing  the  boy  in 
the  ways  of  doing  things  handily,  by  applying 
handy  methods  to  the  making  and  doing  of 
hundreds  of  worth-while  things  in  which  he  is 
intensely  interested.  Such  instruction  as  it 
contains  can  be  put  to  immediate  use;  and 
this  naturally  appeals  to  the  boy's  sense  of  the 
practical  and  is  of  infinitely  more  value  to  him 
than  instruction  which  cannot  possibly  be  of 
any  use  for  years  to  come,  because  knowledge 

once  applied  is  not  easily  forgotten. 

Besides  developing  handiness,  "The  Handy  Boy"  will  encourage  the 

boy  to  think  for  himself  and  to  use  his  ingenuity ;  and  it  will  instill  in  him 

an  ambition  to  make  the  best  possible  use  of  his  time  so  that  he  may  grow 

up  prepared  to  do  something  and  be  something. 

"  Mr.  Hall's  book  is  just  the  thing  to  put  into  the  growing  boy's  hand  to  keep 
him  successfully  and  happily  employed." — Des  Afoines  Capital. 

"  The  best  book  of  its  kind  that  has  yet  been  published." — Boston  Trantcript. 

"There  is  scarcely  any  boy  from  twelve  to  sixteen  or  seventeen  that  will  not  be 
delighted  with  such  a  book,  and  no  one  would  fail  to  receive  much  valuable  infor. 
mation  from  it." — Presbyterian. 

"Here  is  a  book  that  should  be  in  the  library  of  every  healthy,  ambitious 
American  boy." — Buffalo  Commercial. 

"  No  other  volume  contains  such  a  variety  of  wholesome,  instructive,  and  enteK 
taining  material,  nor  presents  so  many  ways  of  making  use  of  the  things  at  hand." 
—  Chicago  Advance. 

For  sale  by  all  booksellers  or  sent  postpaid  on  receipt  of 
price  by  the  publishers 

LOTHROP,  LEE  &  SHEPARD  CO.,  BOSTON 


HANDICRAFT  FOR  HANDY   BOYS 

Practical  Plans  for  Work  and  Play  with 
Many  Ideas  for  Earning  Money 

By  A.  NEELY  HALL 

Author  of    "The  Boy  Craftsman" 

With  Nearly  600  Illustrations  and  Working-drawings  by 

the  Author  and  Norman  P.  Hall     gvo     Cloth 

Net,  $2.00    Postpaid,  $2.25 

THIS  book  is  intended  for  boys  who 
want  the  latest  ideas  for  making 
things,  practical  plans  for  earning  money, 
up-to-date  suggestions  for  games  and 
sports,  and  novelties  for  home  and  school 
entertainments. 

The  author  has  planned  the  suggestions 
on  an  economical  basis,  providing  for  the 
use  of  the  things  at  hand,  and  many  of 
the  things  which  can  be  bought  cheaply. 
Mr.  Hall's  books  have  won  the  confi 
dence  of  parents,  who  realize  that  in 
giving  them  to  their  boys  they  are  pro 
viding  wholesome  occupations  which  will 
encourage  self-reliance  and  resourceful 
ness,  and  discourage  tendencies  to  be  extravagant. 

Outdoor  and  indoor  pastimes  have  been  given  equal  attention,  and 
much  of  the  work  is  closely  allied  to  the  studies  of  the  modern  grammar 
and  high  schools,  as  will  be  seen  by  a  glance  at  the  following  list  of 
subjects,  which  are  only  a  few  among  those  discussed  in  the  500  pages  of 
text: 

MANUAL  TRAINING;  EASILY-MADE  FURNITURE;  FITTING  UP  A 
BOY'S  ROOM;  HOME-MADE  GYMNASIUM  APPARATUS;  A  BOY'S 
WIRELESS  TELEGRAPH  OUTFIT;  COASTERS  AND  BOB-SLEDS; 
MODEL  AEROPLANES;  PUSHMOBILES  AND  OTHER  HOME-MADE 
WAGONS;  A  CASTLE  CLUBHOUSE  AND  HOME-MADE  ARMOR. 

Modern  ingenious  work  such  as  the  above  cannot  fail  to  develop 
mechanical  ability  in  a  boy,  and  this  book  will  get  right  next  to  his  heart. 

"The  book  is  a  treasure  house  for  boys  who  like  to  work  with  tools  and  have 
a  purpose  in  their  •working." — Springfield  Union. 

"It  is  a  capital  book  for  boys  since  it  encourages  them  in  wholesome,  useful 
occupation,  encourage*  self-reliance  and  resourcefulness  and  at  the  same  time 
discourages  extravagance.'1 — Brooklyn  Times. 

"  It  is  all  in  this  book,  and  if  anything  has  got  away  from  the  author  we  do 
not  know  what  it  is." — Buffalo  News. 

For  A*/e  by  all  booksellers,  or  sent  on  receipt  of 
postpaid  price  by  the  publishers 

LOTHROP,   LEE   &    SHEPARD    CO.,   Boston 


CRAFT 
FOR 

HANDY 
BOYS 


THE 
BOY 
CRAFTS 
MAN 


THE  BOY  CRAFTSriAN 

Practical  and  Profitable  Ideas  for  a  Boy's 
Leisure  Hours 

By  A.  NEELY  HALL 

Illustrated  with  over  400  diagrams  and 
working  drawings  8vo  Price,  net,  $1.60 
Postpaid,  $1.82 

J7VERY  real  boy  wishes  to  design  and  make 
*•'  things,  but  the  questions  of  materials  and 
tools  are  often  hard  to  get  around.  Nearly  all 
books  on  the  subject  call  for  a  greater  outlay  of 
money  than  is  within  the  means  of  many  boys, 
or  their  parents  wish  to  expend  in  such  ways. 
In  this  book  a  number  of  chapters  give  sugges 
tions  for  carrying  on  a  small  business  that  will 
bring  a  boy  in  money  with  which  to  buy  tools 
and  materials  necessary  for  making  apparatus 
and  articles  described  in  other  chapters,  while 
the  ideas  are  so  practical  that  many  an  industrious  boy  can  learn  what  he 
is  best  fitted  for  in  his  life  work.  No  work  of  its  class  is  so  completely 
up-to-date  or  so  worthy  in  point  of  thoroughness  and  avoidance  of  danger. 
The  drawings  are  profuse  and  excellent,  and  every  feature  of  the  book  is 
first-class.  It  tells  how  to  make  a  boy's  workshop,  how  to  handle  tools, 
and  what  .:an  be  made  with  them;  how  to  start  a  printing  shop  and  con 
duct  an  amateur  newspaper,  how  to  make  photographs,  build  a  log.  cabin, 
a  canvas  canoe,  a  gymnasium,  a  miniature  theatre,  and  many  other  things 
dear  to  the  soul  of  youth. 

We  cannot  Imagine  a  more  delightful  present  for  a  boy  tkan  this  book.— 
Churchman,  N.  T. 

Every  boy  should  have  this  book.  It's  a  practical  book  —  it  gets  righ*  next  to 
the  boy's  heart  and  stays  there.  He  will  have  it  near  him  all  the  time,  and  on  every 
page  there  is  a  lesson  or  something  that  will  stand  the  boy  in  good  need.  Beyond 
a  doubt  in  its  line  this  is  one  of  the  cleverest  books  on  the  market.  —  Providence 
News, 

If  a  boy  has  any  sort  of  a  mechanical  turn  of  mind,  his  parents  should  see  that 
he  has  this  book.  —  Boston  Journal. 

This  is  a  book  that  will  do  boys  good.  —  Buffalo  Express, 

The  boy  who  will  not  find  this  book  a  .nine  of  joy  and  profit  must  be  queer)? 
constituted.  —  Pittsburgh  Gazette. 

Will  be  a.  delight  to  the  boy  mechanic.  —  Watchman,  Boston 

An  admirable  book  to  give  a  boy. — Ntwark  News, 

Ttofrooo*  is  the  best  yet  offered  for  its  targe  number  of  practical  aad  pioiaabM 
Ideas.  —  Milwcuikee  Free  Press. 

Farents  ought  to  know  of  this  book.  —  Nen>  Tork  Glob*. 


For  sale  by  all  booksellers  or  sent  postpaid  OH  receipt  0 
price  by  the  publishers, 

tOTHROP,  LEE  &  SHEPARD  CO.,  BOSTON 


FIVE   CHUMS   SERIES 

By  NORMAN  BRAINERD 
12mo    Cloth    Illustrated    $1.25  each 

WINNING   HIS  SHOULDER  STRAPS 


WINNING  HIS 
LSIKAPS 


NORMAN  BRAINERD 


A  ROUSING  story  of  life  in  a  military  school 
•**•  by  one  who  thoroughly  knows  all  its  features. 
Bob  Anderson,  the  hero,  is  a  good  friend  to  tie  to, 
and  each  of  his  four  particular  friends  is  a  worthy 
companion,  with  well-sustained  individuality. 
Athletics  are  plentifully  featured,  and  every  boy 
is  a  natural  fellow,  who  talks  and  acts  like  a 
bright,  up-to-date  lad  in  real  life. 

1  'The  story  throughout  is  clean  and  wholesome, 
•  nd  will  not  fail  to  be  appreciated  by  any  boy  reader 
who  has  red  blood  in  his  veins." — Kennebcc  Journal, 

WINNING  THE  EAGLE 
PRIZE 

"THE  hero  not  only  works  his  way  at  Chatham  Military  School  after  his 
*  father's  financial  misfortune,  but  has  the  pluck  to  try  for  a  prize 
which  means  a  scholarship  in  college.  It  is  very  hard  for  a  lad  of  his 
make-up  to  do  the  requisite  studying,  besides  working  and  taking  a 
prominent  part  in  athletics,  and  he  is  often  in  trouble,  for  he 
scorns  to  evade  responsibility.  His  four  friends  are  loyal  to  the  fullest 
extent,  and  all  comes  right  in  the  end. 

"Athletics  play  a  prominent  part  in  the  story  and  the  -whole  is  delightfully 
stimulating  in  the  fine  ideals  of  life  which  it  sets  before  its  young  readers."— 
Chicago  News. 

WINNING 
THE   JUNIOR  CUP 

A  CUP  is  to  be  presented  by  the  Junior  class  to  the 
**•  one  of  the  two  lower  classes  that  they  con 
sider  the  manlier  in  muscles  and  morals,  and  the 
manliest  one  in  the  class  is  to  be  its  custodian. 
The  resolute  individuality  of  big,  athletic  "Stub" 
Barrows  has  caused  him  to  be  an  unlikely  candi 
date.  Nevertheless,  he  enters  the  contest,  and  by 
uncommon  will  power  and  stability  of  character 
brings  his  aspiration  to  a  triumphant  reality. 

:'The  book  is  of  more  than  usual  excellence  in  an 


WINNING  THE 
JUNIOR  CUP 


NORMAN  BRAINERD 


abundant  output  of    boys'  stories  of  uniformly   high 

standard.    It  has  grip  without  being  "yellow."     The  descriptions  of  games  are 

more  than  ordinarily  lifelike  and  stirring." — N,  IT.  Sun. 

LOTHROP,   LEE   &    SHEPARD    CO..    Boston 


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